Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Jan

Jan

(jăn)
,
Noun.
[Ar.]
(Moham. Myth.)
One of an intermediate order between angels and men.

Definition 2024


Jan

Jan

See also: jan, Ján, jan., Jan., and jàŋ

English

Proper noun

Jan

  1. Abbreviation of January.

Translations

Pronunciation

  • enPR: jăn, IPA(key): /dʒæn/
  • Rhymes: -æn

Proper noun

Jan

  1. (dated) A male given name

Etymology 2

Shortened from Janet and Janice.

Pronunciation

  • enPR: jăn, IPA(key): /dʒæn/
  • Rhymes: -æn

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A female nickname, sometimes used as a formal given name.
    • 1899 Paul Leicester Ford: Janice Meredith: Chapter 1:
      "Yes, Mommy," answered Janice. Then she turned to her friend and asked, "Shall I wear my light chintz and kenton kerchief, or my purple and white striped Persian?" "Sufficiently smart for a country lass, Jan," cried her friend.
    • 2008, Stephen King, Just After Sunset, Simon and Schuster (2009), ISBN 1416586652, page 129:
      She's startled. How long has it been since he called her Jax instead of Janet or Jan? The last is a nickname she secretly hates. It makes her think of that syrupy-sweet actress on Lassie when she was a kid, the little boy (Timmy, his name was Timmy) always fell down a well or got bitten by a snake or trapped under a rock, and what kind of parents put a kid's life in the hands of a **** collie?
Derived terms

Etymology 3

From Polish, Czech, German, Dutch, modern Scandinavian etc. Jan, from Latin Johannes (John).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈjan/

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A male given name, in English mostly applied to foreign language speakers.

Czech

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -an

Proper noun

Jan m

  1. A male given name, cognate to John.

Related terms

Alternative forms


Danish

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A male given name, one of the cognates of English John. Popular in the 20th century.

Related terms

References

  • Danskernes Navne, based on CPR data: 46 783 males with the given name Jan have been registered in Denmark between about 1890 (=the population alive in 1967) and January 2005, with the frequency peak in the 1970s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -ɑn

Proper noun

Jan m

  1. A male given name, cognate to John or Jan.

Derived terms


Faroese

Proper noun

Jan m

  1. A male given name.

Usage notes

  • son of Jan: Jansson
  • daughter of Jan: Jansdóttir

Declension

Singular
Indefinite
Nominative Jan
Accusative Jan
Dative Jani
Genitive Jans

German

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /jan/, [jan], [jän]
  • IPA(key): /jaːn/, [jɑːn], [jäːn] (considered wrong by some)
  • Rhymes: -an, -aːn

Etymology

From German Low German Jehann (/ʝəɦæ̃ˑn/). A Low German and North European variant of Johann (= John), popular in Germany at the end of the 20th century.

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A male given name

Limburgish

Proper noun

Jan m

  1. A male given name, equivalent to English John.

Inflection

Inflection
Root singular Root plural Diminutive singular Diminutive plural
nominative Jan Jen Jenke Jenkes
genitive Jans Jen Jenkes Jenkes
locative Jannese Janneser Jenneske Jenneskes
vocative Janne ? ? ?
dative¹ Jannem Jannemer Jennemske Jennemskes
accusative¹ Jan Jen Jenke Jenkes
  • Dative and accusative are nowadays obsolete, use nominative instead.

See also


Norwegian

Etymology

From Dutch and West Frisian Jan in the 18th century. A contraction of Johannes (John). Newer variant of the more traditional Norwegian Jon.

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A male given name.

Usage notes

  • The most common given name of men born in Norway from the 1940s to the 1970s.

Related terms

References

  • Kristoffer Kruken - Ola Stemshaug: Norsk personnamnleksikon, Det Norske Samlaget, Oslo 1995, ISBN 82-521-4483-7
  • Statistisk sentralbyrå, Namnestatistikk: 50 519 males with the given name Jan living in Norway on January 1st 2011, with the frequency peak in the 1950s. Accessed on April 29th, 2011.

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [jan]

Proper noun

Jan m (diminutive Janek or Jaś or Jasio or Janko)

  1. A male given name (equivalent to John)

Declension


Swedish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ˈjɑːn]

Etymology

Contraction of Johan (John). Recorded in Sweden since the 17th century.

Proper noun

Jan

  1. A male given name.

Usage notes

  • Common first part of hyphenated names such as Jan-Erik or Jan-Olof.

Related terms

References

  • Roland Otterbjörk: Svenska förnamn, Almqvist & Wiksell 1996, ISBN 91-21-10937-0
  • Statistiska centralbyrån and Sture Allén, Staffan Wåhlin, Förnamnsboken, Norstedts 1995, ISBN 9119551622: 129 738 males with the given name Jan living in Sweden on December 31st, 2010, with the frequency peak in the 1960s. Accessed on 19 June 2011.

jan

jan

See also: Jan, Ján, jan., Jan., and jàŋ

English

Alternative forms

Noun

jan

  1. Obsolete form of djinn.
    • 1888, Charles Montagu Doughty, Travels in Arabia Deserta
      He cast out the demons of possessed persons, and he bound the jân, wellah, in yonder corner.

Basque

Noun

jan

  1. food

Declension