Ian

¹ American

[ee-uhn, ee-ahn, ahy-uhn] / ˈi ən, ˈi ɑn, ˈaɪ ən /

noun

a male given name, Scottish form of John.

-ian ² American

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 British

suffix

a variant of -an

Etonian
Johnsonian

"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

Etymology

Origin of -ian

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Ian McGuire’s historical thriller, Anna Mundow writes, “transports us to a time and place as solid as the ill-fated rock.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Liverpool ambassador Ian Rush added: "I think our advantage is that the second leg is at home. I think the atmosphere at Anfield is second to none and, hopefully, that will come into it."

From BBC

Ian McKinnon, chief investment officer of Montreal-based Addenda Capital, said Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite could gain 10% this year.

From Barron's

UBS analyst Ian Douglas-Pennant said in a write up of the earnings on Thursday that guidance and the buyback would be the focus of fund managers, while maintaining his buy recommendation and a £16.25 price target.

From MarketWatch

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023