-iano

Forms

-iano (adjective-forming suffix, feminine -iana, masculine plural -iani, feminine plural -iane)^[1]

Etymology

Nocentini, Devoto–Oli and Wiktionary give it as inherited from Latin -iānus.^[2][3][1] In Latin the suffix was an enlargement of -ānus, used especially with proper names (Catulliānus).^[4][5] It arose where that suffix was added to stems ending in ⟨-i-⟩, the nouns in -ius.^[5]

Zingarelli, Treccani and Gabrielli describe it instead as an Italian extension of -ano, spreading from adjectives made on nouns in ⟨-io⟩ and ⟨-ia⟩.^[6][7][8] That suffix is itself an enlargement of -nus.^[4]

Semantic evolution

The suffix is old in words such as cristiano, and it stays productive, above all with the names of writers, thinkers and composers (manzoniano, foscoliano, pirandelliano, verdiano, kantiano, freudiano) and with place names (danubiano, sahariano, vesuviano).^[2][6][7] Such adjectives are sometimes used as nouns.^[6]

Meanings

Suffix

1. Forms adjectives of relation, mostly from proper nouns and surnames: manzoniano, montaliano, verghiano, vichiano.^{[2][3][5][7][1]}

Word family

• cristiano
• manzoniano
• verdiano
• foscoliano
• pirandelliano
• montaliano
• verghiano
• vichiano
• kantiano
• freudiano
• mozartiano
• danubiano
• sahariano
• vesuviano

Related words

• -ano
• Latin -iānus

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
3. ^ a b Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
4. ^ a b Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ a b c Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse
6. ^ a b c Zingarelli, Nicola (2009), Lo Zingarelli 2010: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Bologna: Zanichelli
7. ^ a b c Duro, Aldo (ed.) (1986–1994), Vocabolario della lingua italiana, Roma: Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana; online ed. treccani.it/vocabolario (2008 copy)
8. ^ Gabrielli, Aldo (2020), Grande dizionario italiano, digital ed., Milano: Hoepli