-ain

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ain"

French

Etymology

Inherited from Old French -ain, from Latin -ānus, whence also French -an and -ien.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ɛ̃/
  • Audio(file)

Suffix

-ain m (plural -ains, feminine -aine)

  1. suffix used to form noun (uppercase) demonyms
    ‎Jamaïque + ‎-ain → ‎Jamaïcain
    ‎Mexique + ‎-ain → ‎Mexicain
  2. suffix used to form adjective (lowercase) demonyms
    ‎Jamaïque + ‎-ain → ‎jamaïcain
    ‎Mexique + ‎-ain → ‎mexicain
  3. indicates the old oblique case (cas régime) of certain nouns
    ‎pute + ‎-ain → ‎putain

Derived terms
French terms suffixed with -ain

Old French

Etymology

From Latin -ānus.

Suffix

-ain

  1. Forms the oblique case, especially for feminine nouns.
    ‎pute + ‎-ain → ‎putain
    ‎none + ‎-ain → ‎nonain
  2. Forms adjectives from nouns.
    ‎castel + ‎-ain → ‎castelain

Descendants
  • French: -ain
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