San

¹ American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

plural

Sans,

plural

San

1. a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.

2. any of more than a dozen related Khoisan languages spoken by the San.

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San ² American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

1. a river in central Europe, flowing from the Carpathian Mountains in W Ukraine through SE Poland into the Vistula: battles 1914–15. About 280 miles (450 km) long.

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-san ³ American  

1. a suffix used in Japanese as a term of respect after names or titles.

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

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San ¹ British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

2. a group of the Khoisan languages, spoken mostly by Bushmen

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San ² British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. a river in E central Europe, rising in W Ukraine and flowing northwest across SE Poland to the Vistula River. Length: about 450 km (280 miles)

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san ³ British  

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

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Etymology

Origin of -san

< Japanese, contraction of -sama suffix denoting direction, appearance, respect

Example Sentences

A dozen giddy preteens gathered at the entrance, eager to walk on the pristinely landscaped San Marino grounds.

From Los Angeles Times

Artist and parent Marissa Magdalena Sykes, who grew up in the San Joaquin Valley and is the first in her family to not work in the fields, chimed in.

From Los Angeles Times

When her fourth-grader wanted to join the Girl Scouts, San Francisco native Anayvette Rivera-Amador was torn.

From Los Angeles Times

“I wanted a group that centered her experience, brilliance and power as a young girl of color,” said Rivera-Amador, who has a master’s degree in ethnic studies from UC San Francisco.

From Los Angeles Times

After years of being inundated by requests to start troops across the country, the Radical Monarchs spread to nearby cities like San Francisco, Richmond and Alameda and as far as Denver, New York and Minneapolis.

From Los Angeles Times