len

See also: Appendix:Variations of "len"

Languages (23)

Translingual

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Ahtna • Ao • Czech • Danish • Friulian • Galician • Hungarian • Irish • Lower Tanana • Norwegian Bokmål • Old Czech • Polish • Romani • Romansch • Serbo-Croatian • Slovak • Slovene • Spanish • Swedish • Vietnamese • Volapük • Welsh

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Page categories

Translingual

Symbol

len

1. (international standards) ISO 639-3 language code for Honduran Lenca.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Honduran Lenca terms

Ahtna

Etymology

From Proto-Athabaskan *lənʸ (“to flow”). Cognate with Navajo -LĮ́

Root

len

1. to flow

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	len	liinʼ	liił	liinʼ
Customary	liix, liis	liix, liis	liix, liis	liix, liis

Derived terms

• naghilen
• nilen
• ninilen

References

• Kari, James (1990), Ahtna Athabaskan Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 276

Ao

Etymology

From Proto-Central Naga *laːm, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lam. The final -n is irregular; it may have been due to Lotha influence, where -m does regularly become -n.

Noun

len

1. (Chungli) path, way

Derived terms

• lenmang

Further reading

• Bruhn, Daniel Wayne (2014), A Phonological Reconstruction of Proto-Central Naga‎^[1], Berkeley: University of California, page 215
• Clark, E. W. (1911), “LEN”, in Ao-Naga dictionary, Dimapur

Czech

Etymology

Inherited from Old Czech len, from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ from Proto-Indo-European *lino-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: len
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

len m inan

1. flax (any plant of the genus Linum)
2. flax (fibers)

Declension

Declension of len (hard masculine inanimate reducible)

	singular	plural
nominative	len	lny
genitive	lnu	lnů
dative	lnu	lnům
accusative	len	lny
vocative	lne	lny
locative	lnu	lnech
instrumental	lnem	lny

Derived terms

adjectives

• línový
• lněný

nouns

• leníček
• línek

Further reading

• “len”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “len”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “len”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Danish

Etymology

From Middle Low German lēn, from Old Saxon lēhan, from Proto-West Germanic *laihn, from Proto-Germanic *laihną (“loan”), cognate with German Lehn (Swedish län is a loan from Low German). Doublet of lån.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈleˀn]

Noun

len n (singular definite lenet, plural indefinite len)

1. (historical) fief (a land given by a sovereign to a vassal in exchange for military services, especially in the Middle Ages)
2. (historical) entailed estate (a property given by the king to a person with specific rules of inheritance, in Denmark 1691-1919)
3. (historical) county (a regional and administrative unit, in Denmark until 1662; also used with reference to the län of modern Sweden and Finland)

   Synonyms: amt, region, syssel

Declension

Declension of len

neuter gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	len	lenet	len	lenene
genitive	lens	lenets	lens	lenenes

Derived terms

• lensbaron
• lensgreve
• lensherre
• lensmand
• lensvæsen

References

• “len” in Den Danske Ordbog

Friulian

Etymology

From Latin lignum. Compare Ladin lën, Romansch len, lenn, lain.

Noun

len m (plural lens)

1. wood

Related terms

• legnôs

Galician

Verb

len

1. third-person plural present indicative of ler

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from a Slavic language, from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈlɛn]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: len
• Rhymes: -ɛn

Noun

len (plural lenek)

1. flax

Declension

Inflection (stem in -e-, front unrounded harmony)

	singular	plural
nominative	len	lenek
accusative	lent	leneket
dative	lennek	leneknek
instrumental	lennel	lenekkel
causal-final	lenért	lenekért
translative	lenné	lenekké
terminative	lenig	lenekig
essive-formal	lenként	lenekként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	lenben	lenekben
superessive	lenen	leneken
adessive	lennél	leneknél
illative	lenbe	lenekbe
sublative	lenre	lenekre
allative	lenhez	lenekhez
elative	lenből	lenekből
delative	lenről	lenekről
ablative	lentől	lenektől
non-attributive possessive – singular	lené	leneké
non-attributive possessive – plural	lenéi	lenekéi

Possessive forms of len

possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	lenem	lenjeim
2nd person sing.	lened	lenjeid
3rd person sing.	lenje	lenjei
1st person plural	lenünk	lenjeink
2nd person plural	lenetek	lenjeitek
3rd person plural	lenjük	lenjeik

Derived terms

Compound words

• lenvászon

Further reading

• len in Géza Bárczi, László Országh, et al., editors, A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára [The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (ÉrtSz.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN.

Irish

Preposition

len

1. (dialectal) alternative form of le

Usage notes

This form is found only before bhur (“your pl”) and is not part of the standard written language. In older texts, len bhur may also be spelled le nbhur.

Lower Tanana

Etymology

Proto-Athabaskan *lənʸ (“to flow”), and therefore cognate with Navajo -LĮ́ and Ahtna len.

Root

len

1. a current flows

Stem set

Aspect	Imperfective	Perfective	Future	Optative
Neuter	len	lin'	liɬ	lin'
Customary	liyh	liyh	liyh	liyh

Derived terms

• beyi tadhdleni (“sluice box”)
• beyi tu tadhdleni (“waterpipe”)
• nilenh (“it is flowing”)
• noghilenh (“waterfall”)
• nonilenh (“a current flows across”)
• ttha tenilenhxw (“rapids”)
• tu dodilenhde (“culvert”)
• xototenliyhde (“open place in ice”)
• xwghwnilenh (“a current flows through”)

References

• Kari, James et al. (2024), Kari, James, editor, Lower Tanana Dene Dictionary, Fairbanks, Alaska: Alaska Native Language Center, →ISBN, page 275

Norwegian Bokmål

Verb

len

1. imperative of lene

Old Czech

Alternative forms

• ľen (alternative writing)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ, from Proto-Indo-European *lino-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈlɛn/
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈlɛn/

Noun

len m inan

1. flax

Declension

Declension of len (hard o-stem reducible)

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	len	lny	lni, lnové
genitive	lna, lnu	lnú	lnóv
dative	lnu	lnoma	lnóm
accusative	len	lny	lny
vocative	lne	lny	lni, lnové
locative	lně, lnu	lnú	lniech
instrumental	lnem	lnoma	lny

This table shows the most common forms around the 13th century.

Descendants

• Czech: len

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “len”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Polish

Alternative forms

• lan (Near Masovian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lьnъ. Doublet of lina.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɛn/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛn
• Syllabification: len

Noun

len m inan (related adjective lniany)

1. flax (any plant of the genus Linum)
2. linen (thread or cloth made from flax fibre)

   Synonym: płótno

Declension

Declension of len

	singular	plural
nominative	len	lny
genitive	lnu	lnów
dative	lnowi	lnom
accusative	len	lny
instrumental	lnem	lnami
locative	lnie	lnach
vocative	lnie	lny

Further reading

• len in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• len in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romani

Noun

len m

1. river

Romansch

Alternative forms

• lain (Rumantsch Grischun, Puter, Vallader)
• lenn (Sursilvan, Surmiran)

Etymology

From Latin lignum. Compare Ladin lën, Friulian len.

Noun

len m

1. (Sutsilvan) wood

Serbo-Croatian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *lěnъ.

Adjective

lȇn (Cyrillic spelling ле̑н, definite lȇnī, comparative lȅnjī)

1. alternative form of lijen (“lazy”)

Slovak

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *jenъ. Compare Czech jen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [len]

Adverb

len

1. only, just

Further reading

• “len”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2026

Slovene

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *lěnъ. First attested in the 16th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /léːn/, /lɛ́n/

Adjective

lẹ̑n or lȅn (comparative bȍlj lẹ̑n or bȍlj lȅn, superlative nȁjbolj lẹ̑n or nȁjbolj lȅn)

1. lazy

Declension

The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.

Hard
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nom. sing.	lén	léna	léno
singular
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	lén ind léni def	léna	léno
genitive	lénega	léne	lénega
dative	lénemu	léni	lénemu
accusative	nominativeinan or genitiveanim	léno	léno
locative	lénem	léni	lénem
instrumental	lénim	léno	lénim
dual
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	léna	léni	léni
genitive	lénih	lénih	lénih
dative	lénima	lénima	lénima
accusative	léna	léni	léni
locative	lénih	lénih	lénih
instrumental	lénima	lénima	lénima
plural
	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	léni	léne	léna
genitive	lénih	lénih	lénih
dative	lénim	lénim	lénim
accusative	léne	léne	léna
locative	lénih	lénih	lénih
instrumental	lénimi	lénimi	lénimi

This adjective needs an inflection-table template.

Derived terms

• prelén

Further reading

• “len”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU, portal Fran
• “len”, in Termania, Amebis
• See also the general references

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlen/ [ˈlẽn]
• Rhymes: -en
• Syllabification: len

Noun

len m (plural lenes)

1. The Chilean incense cedar, Austrocedrus chilensis

Further reading

• “len”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swedish

Etymology 1

From Old Norse linr, from Proto-Germanic *linwaz.

Adjective

len (comparative lenare, superlative lenast)

1. smooth and soft

   lena kinder

   smooth cheeks

2. (by extension) smooth (of taste and the like)

Usage notes

Focuses on the (pleasant) sensation when dragging one's fingers (or another body part) across something smooth and soft. Smooth and soft to the touch.

Declension

Inflection of len

Indefinite	positive	comparative	superlative1
common singular	len	lenare	lenast
neuter singular	lent	lenare	lenast
plural	lena	lenare	lenast
masculine plural2	lene	lenare	lenast
Definite	positive	comparative	superlative
masculine singular3	lene	lenare	lenaste
all	lena	lenare	lenaste

¹ The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative.
² Dated or archaic.
³ Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine.

Derived terms

• honungslen (“honeyed”)
• len i munnen
• len som en barnrumpa (“smooth as a baby's bottom”)
• len som en persika (“smooth as a peach”)
• len som honung (“smooth as butter”, literally “smooth as honey”)
• Lena Handén
• silkeslen (“silky, silky smooth”)

See also

• slät (“smooth (whether hard or soft)”)

Etymology 2

From Turkish lan.

Noun

len

1. (slang) friend, buddy, pal (friendly term of address)

   Synonyms: bror, mannen

   Vad händer, len?

   What's going on, buddy?

References

• len in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• len in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Slangopedia

Vietnamese

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [lɛn˧˧]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [lɛŋ˧˧]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [lɛŋ˧˧]

Etymology 1

From French laine.

Noun

len

1. wool
2. yarn

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

len • (踚, 蹥, 𨈆)

1. to negotiate one's way through a mass, to creep through

Derived terms

• len lỏi

Volapük

Preposition

len

1. at, by, on

Welsh

Noun

len

1. soft mutation of llen

Mutation

Mutated forms of llen

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
llen	len	unchanged	unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.