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• Ian
  Ian

  noun

  a male given name, Scottish form of John.
• -ian
  -ian

  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

¹ American  

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

noun

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

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-ian ² 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 .

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-ian British  

suffix

1. a variant of -an

   Etonian

   Johnsonian

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Etymology

Origin of -ian

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

Example Sentences

La Mirada 9, Temecula Valley 2: Ian Aguayo hit a two-run home run during a six-run fourth inning for La Mirada, which next plays Huntington Beach.

From Los Angeles Times • May 16, 2026

Ian Evatt led them back to the third tier and a pathway to the second could have followed in 2024, having narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Championship.

From BBC • May 14, 2026

Ian Wright's early life is being turned into a film produced by rapper Stormzy's film company.

From BBC • May 12, 2026

Walter Thomas Christopher Manley of Loanda Crescent, Newry, had been scheduled to go on trial for the manslaughter of Ian McCollum and for being an employee in breach of duty to others.

From BBC • May 11, 2026

Alex remembered the file he had found in Ian Rider’s office.

From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz