Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

-en

/ən/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: 4.50 in modern English

Syllables
-en
IPA
/ən/
2
Scrabble Score
2
Letters
2
Syllables
2
Unique Chars

Meaning

suffix

Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.

suffix

Denotes a quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb.

Archaic

suffix

Used to denote the plural form of a small number of English nouns, the majority of whose etymologies go back to the n-stem (i.e. weak noun) declension of Germanic languages.

suffix

Used to form the plural of nouns.

Humorous

suffix

When attached to certain adjectives, it forms a transitive verb whose meaning is, to make (adjective). Usually, the verb is ergative, sometimes not. The same construction could also be done to certain (fewer) nouns, as, strengthen, in which case the verb means roughly, "to give (noun) to", or "to become like (noun)".

suffix

Pertaining to, having the qualities of, resembling, or like.

suffix

When attached to certain nouns that are the names of a material, it forms an adjective whose meaning is, made of (noun).

suffix

Used to form the diminutives of certain nouns.

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English -n, -en, past participle ending of strong verbs (compare Middle English take(n), took, taken (“take, took, taken”)), from Old English -en and Old Norse -inn, past participle ending of strong verbs (compare Old Norse taka, tók, tekinn (“take, took, taken”)), ultimately from Proto-Germanic *-inaz, a variant of *-anaz. In Middle English, the suffix was often weakened to -e or disappeared (compare Southern Middle English do(n), dud(e), ydo (“do, did, done”)), but not in others (compare cume(n), com, ycume (“come, came, come”)), from Proto-Germanic *-anaz, from Proto-Indo-European *-nós.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: -n, -en, -inn, *-inaz, *-anaz, *-nós

Usage

Inflected Forms

-n (alternative) -ens (present, singular) -ening (participle, present) -ened (participle, past) -ened (past) more -en (comparative) most -en (superlative) -in (alternative, rare) -ens (plural)

Derived Forms

bergapten citropten isobergapten vaccenic

Phrases

-ren -ock -ling

Frequently Paired Words

-ren -ock -ling

Homonyms

in -an

Questions

How do you pronounce -en?
The recorded pronunciation is /ən/.
What does -en mean?
Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.
Where does -en come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce -en

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “-en”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ən/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “-en”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “-en” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.