San

¹

[ sahn ]

noun

, plural Sans, (especially collectively) 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

/ sæn /

noun

1. See sanatorium
   old-fashioned.
   short for sanatorium

San

³

/ 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)

Word History and Origins

Origin of San¹

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

Example Sentences

San Francisco was the first city to pass one in 2006; since then, 14 other cities and three states have followed suit.

From The Daily Beast

And now Portland, Los Angeles, and San Francisco are all suing Uber for refusing to play by their old regulatory playbooks.

From The Daily Beast

Race is the San Andreas Fault of our culture as well as our history.

From The Daily Beast

Last year in San Diego, they sported bloody pants and angry signs.

From The Daily Beast

Lynchburg is a six-month-old German sausage and ale house in the heart of Panama's San Francisco neighborhood.

From The Daily Beast

San Antonio de Bexar lies in a fertile and well-irrigated valley, stretching westward from the river Salado.

From Project Gutenberg

Columbus found the natives of San Salvador smoking after this manner.

From Project Gutenberg

The five hundred men whom we had left in San Antonio de Bexar, fared no better.

From Project Gutenberg

The jagged top and spurs of San Jacinto Mountain shone like the turrets and posterns of a citadel built of rubies.

From Project Gutenberg

On a shelf near one of these windows stood the little Madonna, again wreathed with vines as in San Pasquale.

From Project Gutenberg