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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

The San Francisco-based content creator was staring at a 4% drop in the Nasdaq that had erased a six-figure sum from his retirement portfolio practically overnight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

Garrett, the reigning NFL defensive player of the year, has not played since the season-opening defeat by the San Francisco 49ers in Australia.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026

Locke later became co-owner of streetwear brand San Portablo, set up in Port Talbot in 2016 by former Tata steelworker Nigel Hunt.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

A court in the Chinese territory Macau sentenced on Friday ex-lawmaker and democracy campaigner Au Kam San to 12 years and six months in prison for subversion and other offences.

From Barron's ● Nov. 6, 2026

The remains ofPhineas, his mother, his brother-in-law, and 35,000 other San Francisco pioneers were dug up by the city and moved to a mass grave in a suburban cemetery.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

The women had just become the latest targets of san tay: the increasingly popular Vietnamese pastime of hunting foreigners for English practice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026

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

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

Has- san had pulled the wide elastic band all the way back.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

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

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 16, 2026

Davide Musardo, who volunteered with Medecins Sans Frontieres, has written of trying to provide therapy against the background of drones and explosions.

From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025

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

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2024

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

From Reuters ● Nov. 20, 2023

A garden party at Sans Souci, the country home of the Baroness Edmond de Rothschild, effectively brought the meeting to its end.

From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson

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