San

¹

[sahn]

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.

San

²

[sahn]

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.

-san

³

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

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

San

¹

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

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

San

²

/ 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)

san

³

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned,  short for sanatorium

Word History and Origins

Origin of San¹

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