-ien

See also: ien and iëŋ

Breton

Etymology

From Old Breton -ion, -on, Proto-Brythonic *-onos, *-onā. Cognate to Welsh -ion, Cornish -yon.

Suffix

-ien

Noun pluralization suffix; sometimes with vocalic ablaut in the pluralized noun
‎lenner (“reader”) + ‎-ien → ‎lennerien (“readers”)

‎mab (“son”) + ‎-ien → ‎mibien (“sons”)

Derived terms

Breton terms suffixed with -ien

ebeulien

kelennerien

mibien

French

Alternative forms

-éen

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French -ien, from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus, from -ānus. Cognate to French -ain and -an.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /jɛ̃/
Audio: (file)

Suffix

-ien m (plural -iens, feminine -ienne)

forms nouns denoting where something or someone is from; -ian
‎Paris + ‎-ien → ‎Parisien (“a Parisian”)

‎Californie + ‎-ien → ‎Californien (“a Californian”)

Suffix

-ien (feminine -ienne, masculine plural -iens, feminine plural -iennes)

forms adjectives indicating relation to; -ian
‎Paris + ‎-ien → ‎parisien (“Parisian”)

‎Californie + ‎-ien → ‎californien (“Californian”)

‎Vadim + ‎-ien → ‎vadimien (“of Roger Vadim Plemiannikov, French screenwriter, film director and producer”)

Usage notes

When the name's last syllable contains "e" or "è" followed by a single consonant, that vowel is normally raised to "é": e.g. barrésien, beethovénien, mussétien, turnérien, wagnérien, etc.

Derived terms

French terms suffixed with -ien

German

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /i̯ən/, [i.ən], [jən]
Audio: (file)

Etymology 1

From Middle High German -ie, -je, from Latin -ia (feminine singular). Nouns with this Latinate suffix were originally strong (i.e. invariable) feminines, but inflected forms in -ien arose when the distinction between strong and weak feminines collapsed in later Middle High German. These were then treated by analogy with local names like Böhmen, Franken, Sachsen etc. (all originally dative plural of a tribe name).

Suffix

-ien n

Used to form country names; -ia
‎Tscheche (“Czech person”) + ‎-ien → ‎Tschechien (“Czechia”)

‎Jordan (“Jordan”, river) + ‎-ien → ‎Jordanien (“Jordan”, country)

Etymology 2

From Latin -ia (neuter plural). In some cases, analysable within German as a regular plural of an earlier form in -ium; e.g. Principium as an obsolete variant of Prinzip. The singular ending was sometimes lost, leaving -ien as a new, irregular plural suffix. In other cases, simply following the Latin i-declension (singular in -e, plural in -ia).

Suffix

-ien pl

Used to form the plurals of some neuter nouns of Latin descent whose original plural ends in -ia.
‎Material + ‎-ien → ‎Materialien

‎Prinzip + ‎-ien → ‎Prinzipien

‎Konzil + ‎-ien → ‎Konzilien

Usage notes

Not all nouns whose Latin plural is -ia necessarily take this ending. Some take a regular plural in -e, or have both forms alongside (for example, Konzile).

Middle English

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Old French -ien, from Latin -iānus.

Alternative forms

-ian, -ion, -ione, -ioun, -yen, -yone, -youn

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-iˈɛːn/, /-i.ɛn/, /-i.ən/, /-jɛn/, /-jən/

Suffix

-ien

Forms nouns and adjectives denoting origin, association, or residence; -ian.

Usage notes

Before this ending, /k/ becomes /s/; for instance, musike /miu̯ˈziːk(ə)/ + -ien becomes musicien /miu̯ˌzisiˈɛːn/.

Derived terms

Middle English terms suffixed with -ien

Descendants

English: -ian
Scots: -ian

References

“-ien, suf.(1).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Etymology 2

A conflation of two originally distinct suffixes:

The Old English weak class 2 suffix -ian, -iġan, by syncope from earlier *-ōjan, North Sea Germanic form of Proto-West Germanic *-ōn, from Proto-Germanic *-ōną.
The suffix -ian, -ġan in Old English verbs of weak class 1 with roots ending in -r (and exceptionally in swerian, a verb of strong class 6 with a j-present and root ending in -r), from Proto-West Germanic *-jan, *-ijan, from Proto-Germanic *-janą, *-ijaną.

Additionally, some verbs borrowed from Old Norse and Old French or formed anew have adopted this suffix.

Alternative forms

-ey, -i, -ie, -y, -ye, -yen, -yȝe
-eȝe, -eȝen, -iæn, -iȝe, -iȝen, -in (Early Middle English)

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /-iən/, /-jən/
IPA^(key): /-iː(ə)/, /-jə/ (with loss of final /n/)

Suffix

-ien

(after Early Middle English, Kent, Southern or West Midlands) Denotes the infinitive when attached to verbs.

Usage notes

This suffix was initially restricted to those verbs where it was etymologically justified (see above), but had come to be applied indiscriminately by the Late Middle English period where it was not replaced by -en.