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• San
  San

  noun

  a member of a nomadic aboriginal people of southern Africa.
• -san
  -san

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

  noun

  short for sanatorium

San

¹ American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

noun

• Sans,
  plural
• San
  plural

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.

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San ² American  

[sahn] / sɑn /

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.

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-san ³ American  

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

   Suzuki-san; samurai-san.

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San ¹ British  

/ sɑːn /

noun

1. an aboriginal people of southern Africa

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

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San ² British  

/ 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)

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san ³ British  

/ sæn /

noun

1. old-fashioned short for sanatorium

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• San
  plural
• Sans
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of -san

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

San san Sans

In September, Alfozan booked one-way plane tickets from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul for himself, his wife and three-month old son, prosecutors said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

“I think it will be on a similar scale,” said Philip Gonsalves, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in San Diego.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

Earlier this season, the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers offered the most extreme study in jet lag for their season opener in Melbourne by arriving a full week apart.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2026

The measure has garnered widespread support, including from Gov. Gavin Newsom, statewide unions and mayors from Santa Monica to San José.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2026

The next day, on my break, Januka tells a story about a woman on the other side of Przemyśl, across the San, who was hiding Jews in an attic.

From "The Light in Hidden Places" by Sharon Cameron

Alcoa san k 7% after the aluminum producer’s first-quarter earnings and revenue fell short of analysts’ expectations.

From Barron's ● Apr. 17, 2026

Miyazaki san responded, “I am making this movie because I do not have the answer.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 13, 2023

“Miyazaki san is a master of that stature.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 8, 2023

The pair, Sean Turnell, a former adviser to deposed Myanmar leader Aung san Suu Kyi and Vicky Bowman, were headed to Bangkok on an evening flight, the source said.

From Reuters ● Nov. 17, 2022

Instead, she kept her eye out for the san Francisco international airport sign.

From "When Dimple Met Rishi" by Sandhya Menon

Then, enter Comic Sans typeface — a perfect dash of irony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Rostin Manketa, executive director of Congolese human rights group La Voix des Sans Voix, shares a similar account.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2024

But Doctors Without Borders, known in French as Médecins Sans Frontières, confirmed that’s not the case.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 1, 2023

Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres said its clinic in Gaza City also came under fire on Monday.

From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 2023

While I felt at ease giving my talk on TMV in shorts, the French contingent feared that I would go one step further by arriving at Sans Souci in the same outfit.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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