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-ian

1 American  
  1. a suffix with the same meaning and properties as -an, though -ian is now the more productive of the two suffixes in recent coinages, especially when the base noun ends in a consonant: Orwellian; Washingtonian .


Ian 2 American  
[ee-uhn, ee-ahn, ahy-uhn] / ˈi ən, ˈi ɑn, ˈaɪ ən /

noun

  1. a male given name, Scottish form of John.


-ian British  

suffix

  1. a variant of -an

    Etonian

    Johnsonian

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of -ian

Extracted from Latin loanwords in which -ānus (adjective suffix) is joined to stems ending in i; -an

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ian Patton, a Long Beach resident, said most parts of the investigation into the 2015 explosion were withheld.

From Los Angeles Times

Ian Coates's sons will all be part of proceedings, including 45-year-old father-of-two Darren, from Nottingham, who has been signed off work as a civil engineer due to mental health issues and has kept himself out of the public spotlight.

From BBC

Now nearly three years on, Ian's son Darren Coates says he has chosen to speak out for the first time, because he wants people to know who his dad really was ahead of a government-ordered, judge-led public inquiry into the attacks, which is due to begin hearing evidence in London on 23 February.

From BBC

Ian was born in Boston, Lincolnshire, in 1957 and moved to Nottingham when he was a young boy.

From BBC

Ian's sons chose to be interviewed by the BBC at the football club, as it meant so much to their dad and joked "if Forest won, it was going to be a great weekend for everyone".

From BBC