-en
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-en¹
- /ən/
- [ən]
- [n̩]
Where it comes from
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.
suffix -n
- Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb. take + -en → taken
- Denotes a quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb. fork + -en → forken (“forked”)
-en²
Where it comes from
From Middle English -en, -n, the plural suffix of weak nouns (n-stems), from Old English -an, from Proto-West Germanic *-an m, *-ōn f or n, from Proto-Germanic *-an- m, *-ōn- f or n, from Proto-Indo-European *-on-, o-grade form of the n-stem suffix.
Reinforced by the early Middle English dative plural ending -en, from late Old English -an, weakened form of earlier -um.
suffix -n
- 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. aurochs + -en → aurochsen brother + -en → brethren (religious sense) child + -en → children (cf. childer) ox + -en → oxen
- Used to form the plural of nouns. box + -en → boxen
-en³
Where it comes from
From Middle English -(e)nen, from Old English -nian, from Proto-West Germanic *-inōn, from Proto-Germanic *-inōną. Cognate with Saterland Frisian -enje, West Frisian -enje, Danish -ne, Swedish -na, Icelandic -na.
suffix -ens · -ening · -ened
- 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)". white (adjective) + -en → whiten
-en⁴
Where it comes from
From Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from Proto-West Germanic *-īn, from Proto-Germanic *-īnaz; suffix meaning "made of, consisting of, having the qualities of" applied to nouns to form adjectives. Akin to Dutch -en, German -en, Icelandic -inn, Latin -īnus. See -ine.
suffix more -en · most -en · -n · -in
- Pertaining to, having the qualities of, resembling, or like. wolf + -en → wolven
- When attached to certain nouns that are the names of a material, it forms an adjective whose meaning is, made of (noun). wood + -en → wooden gold + -en → golden wheat + -en → wheaten oat + -en → oaten silk + -en → silken earth + -en → earthen flax + -en → flaxen lead + -en → leaden wool + -en → woollen oak + -en → oaken
-en⁵
Where it comes from
From Middle English -en, from Old English -en, from the neuter form of -en (“pertaining to”, adjective-forming suffix).
suffix -ens
- Used to form the diminutives of certain nouns. chick + -en → chicken
-en⁶
Where it comes from
From Middle English -ene, -en, from Old English -en, from Proto-West Germanic *-ini, from Proto-Germanic *-inī.
suffix -ens
- Denotes a female form of a few nouns. fox + -en → vixen (“female fox”)
-en⁷
Where it comes from
From Middle English -en, from Old English -an, from Proto-West Germanic *-an, from Proto-Germanic *-aną. Compare -y (intransitive infinitive ending).
suffix
- Used to form the infinitive of verbs. The Sonne compell’d, beene Butcher to the Sire;
-en⁸
Where it comes from
From Middle English -en, from Old English -on and -en, the indicative and subjunctive past tense plural endings of verbs.
suffix
- Used to form the plural present tense of verbs. All things perish, whether man or pelf, / Should not escape but from itself;
- Used to form the plural past tense of verbs. Her name was Agape whoſe children werne / All three as one, the firſt hight Priamond, / The ſecond Dyamond, the youngeſt Triamond.
-en⁹
Where it comes from
From French -ène.
suffix
- Indicates the presence of a carbon-carbon double bond.
Translations
Talk about this word "-en." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/-en. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. -en. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/-en "-en." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/-en.Cite this
@misc{en_2026,
title = {-en},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/-en},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
