Where does “-ан” come from?

-ан (Ukrainian) comes from Ukrainian -а́нь, from Ukrainian -ь, from Proto-Slavic -ь, from Proto-Indo-European -is — Forms nouns from verbs.

-ан (Ukrainian): Unproductive suffix to form an animate masculine noun, usually denoting an emotional feature or endearment

Definitions

  1. Unproductive suffix to form an animate masculine noun, usually denoting an emotional feature or endearment

Ancestry of “-ан”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ukrainian-а́ньUnproductive suffix forming agent nouns
2Ukrainian-ь—
3Proto-Slavic-ьForms nouns; From adjectives; From participles
4Proto-Indo-European-isForms nouns from verbs
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -is →Every word from Proto-Slavic -ь →Every word from Ukrainian -ь →