Where does “-en” come from?

-en (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Old Norse -inn, from Proto-Norse -īna-, from Proto-Germanic -īnaz, from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos, from Proto-Indo-European -no- — adjectival suffix.

-en (Norwegian Bokmål): An inflectional suffix forming the definite singular of masculine nouns, corresponding to English “the”

Definitions

  1. An inflectional suffix forming the definite singular of masculine nouns, corresponding to English “the”

Ancestry of “-en”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Norse-innUsed to create adjectives from nouns, meaning...
2Proto-Norse-īna-—
3Proto-Germanic-īnaz-en
4Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
5Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

Words derived from “-en”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no- →Every word from Proto-Germanic -īnaz →Every word from Proto-Indo-European -iHnos →