-anus

See also: Appendix:Variations of "anus"

Latin

Alternative forms

Etymology

    Inherited from Proto-Italic *-ānos.

    Pronunciation

    Suffix

    -ānus (feminine -āna, neuter -ānum); first/second-declension suffix

    1. Of or pertaining to; -ian; usually indicates a relationship of origin, position, or possession.

    Usage notes

    The suffix -ānus is typically added to a noun stem (particularly proper nouns) to form an adjective.

    Examples:
    mōns (“mountain”) → montānus (“montane, of the mountains”)
    Christus (“Christ”) → christiānus (“christian”)

    Many such words, however, can be either nouns or adjectives.

    Examples:
    pāgus (“village”) → pāgānus (“rustic, of a village”), or a villager
    Rōma (“Rome”) → rōmānus (“Roman”), or a person from Rome

    -ānus is also often used to form personal names, particularly cognomina, from other names, denoting a patronymic or another relationship of belonging: Domitius → Domitiānus.

    It is frequently preceded by the noun stem followed by -i- except in the case of Latin nouns (typically borrowed from Greek) ending -e- or -ae-, where it is preceded by -e- instead.

    Declension

    First/second-declension adjective.

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Descendants