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San 1 (sän)
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A river, about 435 km (270 mi) long, of southeast Poland flowing generally north-northwest from the Carpathian Mountains to the Vistula River.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
San 2 (sän)
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n. pl. Sanor Sans
1. A member of a traditionally nomadic hunting people of southwest Africa.
2. Any of the languages of the San.

[Khoekhoegowab Saan : saa, to pick up from the ground, gather, forage + -n, common gender plural suffix.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
-san
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suff.
Used as a courtesy title in Japanese-speaking areas as a suffix to the given name, surname, or title of the person being addressed, regardless of age or gender: Yamamoto-san.

[Japanese -san.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.