Ian

[ee-uh n, ee-ahn, ahy-uh n]

noun

a male given name, Scottish form of John.

-ian

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

Origin of -ian

extracted from L loanwords in which -ānus -an is joined to stems ending in i

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ian

Contemporary Examples of ian

Yes, the original Bond, as imagined by Ian Fleming, was obviously white.
Rush Limbaugh’s Fear of a Black James Bond
Dean Obeidallah
December 29, 2014
The medical record, from an Ebola case, made for grim reading, but Dr. Ian Crozier could not put it down.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 8-14, 2014
William Boot
December 13, 2014
He went on to thank his family, his gallerist, distributor, and paid tribute to artist Ian White.
Has the Turner Prize Gone Soft?
David Levesley
December 2, 2014
Oh, and that his profile on Twitter and his name elsewhere say “Ian Miles Cheong” whereas mine says “Arthur Chu.”
Rage Against GamerGate’s Hate Machine: What I Got For Speaking Up
Arthur Chu
November 17, 2014
Update: Ian Sams, a spokesman for the DNC, has informed me that the airbone creature was, a Cliff Hawk.
Dems' Unspeakably Lame Bridgegate Stunt
Olivia Nuzzi
September 8, 2014

Historical Examples of ian

Then she went to her room, and thought of Ian until she fell asleep and dreamed of him.
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
And Ian did not disappoint the happy hopes which called him.
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Ian remained at his side and they returned to England together.
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
She loved Ian with all her heart, she was glad she was going 198 to be always with him.
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr
Now, 250 Ian, a weak, good man is a dangerous type of a bad man.
An Orkney Maid
Amelia Edith Huddleston Barr

British Dictionary definitions for ian

-ian

suffix

a variant of -an Etonian; Johnsonian

Word Origin for -ian

from Latin -iānus

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

Word Origin and History for ian

Ian

masc. proper name, Scottish form of John.

-ian

variant of suffix -an used with stem endings in -i, from Latin -ianus (-anus). In Middle English, frequently -ien, from words borrowed via French.