Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cyan

/ˈsaɪˌæn/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.71 in modern English

Syllables: cyan
IPA: /ˈsaɪˌæn/

9

Scrabble Score

4

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

An additive secondary colour midway between green and blue, evoked by wavelengths between ~490 and ~520 nm.

Countable; Uncountable

adj

Of the colour cyan.

Example Sentences

"CMYK stands for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black. This four component color system is standard for most types of color printing, since black is an ink color in printing but is simply the absence of color in video."

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύανος (kúanos), a shade of blue variously described as similar to cornflower, copper carbonate, and lapis lazuli, Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀷𐀜 (ku-wa-no), possibly from Hittite [script needed] (kuwannan-, “a precious stone; copper; shade of blue”) - likely from Kuwanniya, all going back to kuwanna (woman), related to "queen" and γυνή. Compare modern Greek κυανός (kyanós), also used for cyan.

Word Breakdown

Root: 𐀓𐀷𐀜

Usage

Inflected Forms

cyans (plural) more cyan (comparative) most cyan (superlative)

Derived Forms

cyanean cyanic cyanin cyanine cyanise cyanish œnocyan oocyan haemocyanin hemocyanin

Phrases

cyan- cyano-

Frequently Paired Words

cyan- cyano-

Rhymes With

an can than man one-man plan began san fan japan ran van

Questions

How do you pronounce cyan?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈsaɪˌæn/.
What does cyan mean?: An additive secondary colour midway between green and blue, evoked by wavelengths between ~490 and ~520 nm.
Where does cyan come from?: Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κύανος (kúanos), a shade of blue variously described as similar to cornflower, copper carbonate, and lapis lazuli, Mycenaean Greek 𐀓𐀷𐀜 (ku-wa-no), possibly from Hittite [script needed] (kuwannan-, “a precious stone; copper; shade of blue”) - likely from Kuwanniya, all going back to kuwanna (woman), related to "queen" and γυνή. Compare modern Greek κυανός (kyanós), also used for cyan.

How to pronounce cyan

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cyan”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈsaɪˌæn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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