-ant

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English -ant, also -aunt,^[2][3] borrowed from Anglo-Norman -ant and Old French -ant, and directly borrowed from Latin -āns,^[2][4][5][3] the present participle ending of verbs of the first conjugation,^[2][6][3][7] made up of their stem vowel and -ns.^[3] Etymonline takes this back to Proto-Indo-European *-nt-.^[5] Klein compares Ancient Greek -ων (-ōn).^[7] Old French generally levelled the more common Latin -ēns under the same form, so -ant also continues that ending, as in sergeant from serviēns and tenant from tenēns.^[2][8][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

Borrowings from French are recorded from the beginning of the 13th century, in sergeant and semblant, and spellings such as -aunt suggest a stress at first on the last syllable.^[2] For some words, such as abundant and pregnant, both French and Latin may have played a part.^[2]

Semantic evolution

Words clearly from Latin appear from the early 15th century, such as deviant.^[2] From then on -ent was sometimes restored in French borrowings where the Latin had -ēns, as in apparent.^[2] Medieval and later French borrowings from Latin also kept the Latin vowel, hence elegant beside prudent.^[2] Formations within English also go back to the 15th century, as obeyant, and usually take bases of Romance or Latin origin.^[2] SOED says that conflicting English, French and Latin models have left much inconsistency between -ant and -ent.^[9] Modern nouns name people or things that act, such as claimant, and many are technical, such as coolant and deodorant.^[3][6][9]

Timeline

• early 13th century – sergeant, semblant.^[2]
• early 15th century – first words clearly from Latin, among them deviant.^[2]
• 15th century – first formations in English: obeyant, availant.^[2]
• 1866 – deodorant.^[2]
• 1892 – pollutant.^[2]
• 1915 – coolant.^[2]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forming adjectives that mean performing an action or being in a condition: compliant, expectant.^[3][4][9]
2. Forming nouns for a person or thing that performs an action: assistant, resultant.^[3][4][9]
3. Forming nouns for a thing that promotes a process: expectorant.^[3]
4. Forming nouns for a thing acted upon, or used for a purpose: inhalant.^[3]

Word family

• assistant
• defendant
• important
• pleasant
• servant

Related words

• -ance
• -ancy
• -ent
• -ing

Usage notes

A few words have -ant that is no Latin participle: it is a variant of -and in forms such as errant, or a corruption of -an in pheasant, truant and pageant.^[2][9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
7. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
8. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
9. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press