san
English meaning: San
Definition
A letter of the Archaic Greek alphabet (uppercase Ϻ, lowercase ϻ) that came after pi and before qoppa.
Example
“They flew to San Francisco for the technology conference.”
Another example: “In Japanese, you address Mr Tanaka politely as 'Tanaka-san'.”
Usage — When, Where & How
As a proper noun, 'San' is a Spanish/Italian/Portuguese title meaning 'Saint', used in place names (San Francisco, San Marino). It is also a Japanese honorific suffix and an archaic Greek letter. The place-name use is by far the most common in English.
Etymology & Origin
English — Origin & History
From Spanish and Italian 'san', a shortened form of Latin 'sanctus' (holy, saint); the Greek letter 'san' derives from a Semitic source.
Synonyms
Related Words
- diego
- joaquin
- marino
- jose
- antonio
- juan
- pedro
- ers
- fernando
- luis
Common Collocations
- san francisco
- san diego
- san jose
- san antonio
- san marino
- san juan
Word Forms
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Word Tools
Literary Heritage
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.”
/To thine own self be true/
“Be honest with yourself — and as naturally as night follows day, you will be unable to be false to others.”
“I'm nobody! Who are you? Are you nobody, too?”
/I'm nobody! Who are you?/
“I am nobody — and that quiet anonymity is more honest than the noise of public fame.”
Images
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Language information
- Language
- English
- English
- Script
- Latin
- Family
- Indo-European
- Speakers
- 1.5B