Ian

¹

[ee-uhn, ee-ahn, ahy-uhn]

noun

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

-ian

²

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 .

-ian

suffix

1. a variant of -an

   Etonian

   Johnsonian

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ian¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ian¹

from Latin -iānus

Example Sentences

Even the normally loquacious Healy - niece of former Australia men's wicketkeeper Ian - lacked her usual chirp behind the stumps.

Read more on BBC

The Scottish Secretary, who replaced Ian Murray last month, was also questioned about whether he had a "duty to the electorate" to outline what would happen in the event of an SNP majority.

Read more on BBC

Ian: I think Rangers should seek out Billy Davies for their next manager.

Read more on BBC

The family were given a tour by Sunnyfields owners Tom and Ian Nelson.

Read more on BBC

Former City Ground favourites Ian Woan and Steve Stone have also been long-term members of Dyche's coaching staff during his managerial spells at Burnley and Everton.

Read more on BBC