dan

English Online Dictionary. What means dan‎? What does dan mean?

Translingual

Symbol

dan

1. (international standards) ISO 639-2 & ISO 639-3 language code for Danish.

See also

• Wiktionary’s coverage of Danish terms

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English dan, daun, dam (“lord”), from Anglo-Norman daun, daunz and Old French dan, dam, from Latin dominus. Doublet of don.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dæn/
• Rhymes: -æn

Noun

dan

1. (obsolete) A title of honour or respect similar to "master" or "Sir", used of historical and legendary figures of the past.

Alternative forms

• Dan

Etymology 2

Uncertain.

Noun

dan (plural dans)

1. (mining) A small truck or sledge used in coal mines.

See also

• corf

Etymology 3

From Japanese 段 (dan).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dæn/, /dɑn/
• Rhymes: -æn, -ɑːn

Noun

dan (plural dans)

1. A rank of black belt in martial arts.

   Hyponym: shodan

2. Someone who has achieved a level of black belt.

   Hyponym: shodan

Etymology 4

From the pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 担 (dàn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑn/, /dæn/

Noun

dan (plural dans or dan)

1. (units of measurement) Synonym of picul: a traditional unit of weight and mass.

Etymology 5

Uncertain.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dæn/

Noun

dan (plural dans)

1. A dan buoy.

Etymology 6

Preposition

dan

1. Pronunciation spelling of than.

See also

Anagrams

• -and, ADN, AND, DNA, NAD, NDA, and, and-, dna, nad

Afrikaans

Etymology

From Dutch dan.

Pronunciation

Adverb

dan

1. then

Conjunction

dan

1. than

Antillean Creole

Etymology

From French dent.

Noun

dan

1. (anatomy) tooth

Azerbaijani

Etymology

From Proto-Common Turkic *taŋ.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dɑn]

Noun

dan (definite accusative danı, plural danlar)

1. dawn

Declension

Related terms

• danna (“tomorrow”)

Further reading

• “dan” in Obastan.com.

Bambara

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dã˦]

Verb

dan

1. to count
2. to sow

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dã˨]

Verb

dan

1. to pass beyond

References

• 2007. The UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive. Los Angeles, CA: UCLA Department of Linguistics.

Biem

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Heinrich Aufenanger, The great inheritance in Northeast New Guinea: a collection of anthropological data (1975)
• Stephen Adolphe Wurm, New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)

Bonggo

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 128

Catalan

Verb

dan

1. third-person plural present indicative of dar

Cimbrian

Etymology

From Middle High German dan, from Old High German dan, from Proto-West Germanic *þan (“then, at that time”). Cognate with German dann, English than. Doublet of dénne.

Conjunction

dan

1. (Sette Comuni) than

   Synonyms: bèdar, ken, kédar

   Ich limme libor diiza dan dòi. ― I'd rather take this than that.

   Dis is pessor dan des. ― This is better than that.

References

• “dan” in Martalar, Umberto Martello, Bellotto, Alfonso (1974) Dizionario della lingua Cimbra dei Sette Communi vicentini, 1st edition, Roana, Italy: Instituto di Cultura Cimbra A. Dal Pozzo

Cornish

Noun

dan

1. Soft mutation of tan.

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈdan]
• Rhymes: -an

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Japanese だん (dan).

Noun

dan m anim

1. (martial arts) dan, master and teacher of judo, karate or other Japanese martial arts

Declension

Noun

dan m inan

1. (martial arts) dan, master degree in judo and karate

Declension

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin Dania (“Denmark”).

Noun

dan m inan

1. (geology) Danian, stage of Paleogene

Declension

Anagrams

• And
• dna
• DNA
• nad

Dongxiang

Etymology

Compare Bonan dam, ultimately from Proto-Turkic *dām. Compare Turkish dam (“roof”), Uyghur تام (tam, “wall”), Salar tam, tām (“wall”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /tɑŋ/

Noun

dan

1. wall

Dutch

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑn/
• Hyphenation: dan
• Rhymes: -ɑn

Etymology 1

From Middle Dutch dan, from Old Dutch than, from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic *þan.

Adverb

dan

1. then, at that time (in the future)

2. then, after that

3. then, in that case

Usage notes

The adverb dan is often used in Dutch after an imperative with a preceding conditional clause:

Synonyms

• (in the past) toen

Related terms

• nochtans

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dan
• Berbice Creole Dutch: dana
• Negerhollands: dan
• Petjo: dan
• Skepi Creole Dutch: than
• → Sranan Tongo: dan
  • → Kari'na: dan

Conjunction

dan

1. than (in comparison)

Synonyms

• als (non-standard)

Descendants

• Afrikaans: dan
• Negerhollands: dan

Preposition

dan

1. but, except

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 段.

Noun

dan c (plural dans)

1. unit of grading proficiency of black belt or greater than black-belt in Japanese martial arts

Anagrams

• DNA

Fanamaket

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Frantisek Lichtenberk, Sequentiality-Futurity Links, Oceanic Linguistics 53:1 (2014), pages 61-91

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese 段 (dan), from Chinese 段 (duàn).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dan/

Noun

dan m (plural dans)

1. dan

Further reading

• “dan”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Galician

Verb

dan

1. third-person plural present indicative of dar

Haitian Creole

Etymology

From French dent (“tooth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dã/

Noun

dan

1. tooth

Iban

Etymology

From Proto-Malayic *dahan, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *daqan (“branch, bough”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dan/

Noun

dan

1. branch (part of plant)

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*daqan”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Indonesian

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /dan/ [dan]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: dan

Etymology 1

Inherited from Malay dan, probably from dengan, or Proto-Malayic *dua(ʔ)-an.

Conjunction

dan

1. and (used to connect two similar words, phrases, et cetera)

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese 段 (dan).

Noun

dan

1. a rank in judo, karate and kenpo

Japanese

Romanization

dan

1. Rōmaji transcription of だん

Jassic

Etymology

From Alanic *dan, from Proto-Scythian *dān, Proto-Iranian *dáHnu, from Proto-Indo-Iranian *dáHnu, from Proto-Indo-European *déh₂nu. Cognate with Ossetian дон (don), Avestan 𐬛𐬁𐬥𐬎 (dānu, “river”), Sanskrit दानु (dānu, “drop, dew”).

Noun

dan

1. water

Further reading

• Fridrik Thordarson, Ossetic Grammatical Studies (2009)
• Magyarrá lett keleti népek (Viktor Szombathy, Gyula László; 1988), reproducing the only surviving wordlist

Kis

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Stephen Adolphe Wurm, New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)

Ladin

Preposition

dan

1. in front of, before

Lavatbura-Lamusong

Noun

dan

1. water

Usage notes

Takes various 'article' prefixes, such as la-dan (in the Madak dialect) and e-dan (in other Lamusong dialects).

Further reading

• Malcolm Ross, Proto Oceanic and the Austronesian Languages of Western Melanesia, Pacific Linguistics, series C-98 (1988)
• Bob Lee, Noun Phrases in Madak

Malay

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dan/
• Rhymes: -dan, -an

Conjunction

dan (Jawi spelling دان)

1. and (used to connect two similar words, phrases, et cetera)

Descendants

Maltese

Alternative forms

• dana, da

Etymology

From Arabic ذَا (ḏā, “this, that”). The paragogic -n probably spread from the plural, where it originated by analogy with hawn (“here”) and/or with the plural ending -in (compare Algerian Arabic هادون (hādūn) alongside هادو (hādū)). Some earlier scholars instead suspected a connection with Aramaic דנה (dənā, “this, that”), but this was based on the widely obsolete theory of a Punic substratum in Maltese.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daːn/

Determiner

dan (feminine din, plural dawn)

1. this

Usage notes

• May contract with the following article: dan ir-raġel → dar-raġel (“this man”). The full form is commoner, however, except in expressions like dax-xahar (“this month”).
• The feminine singular contracts to di-, the plural to da- like the masculine: dil-ġimgħa (“this week”), das-snin (“these years”).

Coordinate terms

• dak
• hedan, hedak

Derived terms

Mandarin

Romanization

dan

1. Nonstandard spelling of dān.
2. Nonstandard spelling of dǎn.
3. Nonstandard spelling of dàn.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mauritian Creole

Etymology

From French dans.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑ̃/

Preposition

dan

1. in
2. within

Middle Dutch

Etymology 1

From Old Dutch than, from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic *þan.

Adverb

dan

1. then, after that
2. then, in that case
3. thus, therefore

Descendants

• Dutch: dan

Conjunction

dan

1. than (in comparisons)
2. other than (with negation)

Descendants

• Dutch: dan

Etymology 2

Contraction

dan

1. Contraction of dat ne.

Further reading

• “dan (V)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• “dan (VI)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000
• Verwijs, E., Verdam, J. (1885–1929) “dan (I)”, in Middelnederlandsch Woordenboek, The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, →ISBN, page I

Middle English

Alternative forms

• dane, danz, daun, daunz, dawn
• (preceding labials) dam, dame, damp

Etymology

Borrowed from Anglo-Norman daun, daunz and Old French dan, dam, from Latin dominus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dau̯n/, /dan/

Noun

dan (uncountable)

1. A respectful term of address for a (male) scholar, noble, or cleric.
2. (literary, rare) A respectful term of address for a classical deity.
3. (rare) A male noble or member of the clergy.

Descendants

• English: dan, Dan (obsolete)

References

• “daun, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.

Nigerian Pidgin

Etymology

From English than.

Conjunction

dan

1. than

Preposition

dan

1. than

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian thīn.

Determiner

dan (feminine and neuter din, plural din) (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring)

1. your, thy (second-person singular possessive determiner)

Pronoun

dan (feminine and neuter din, plural (Föhr-Amrum) dinen or (Mooring) din) (Föhr-Amrum, Mooring)

1. yours, thine (second-person singular possessive pronoun)

See also

Northern Kurdish

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-Iranian *dádaHti, from Proto-Indo-European *dédeh₃ti, imperfective form of the root *deh₃-.

Verb

dan

1. to give, to grant, to provide with

Conjugation

Derived terms

Northern Sami

Determiner

dan

1. accusative/genitive singular of dat

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse danr, from Proto-Germanic *danaz.

Alternative forms

• dane

Noun

dan m (definite singular danen, indefinite plural daner or danar, definite plural danene or danane)

1. Dane (only used in names)

Related terms

• Danmark (“Denmark”)
• dansk (“Danish”)

Male given names:

Female given names:

Etymology 2

From Middle Low German dān, past participle of dôn (“to do”). Akin to English done.

Adjective

dan (neuter dant, definite singular and plural dane, comparative danare, indefinite superlative danast, definite superlative danaste)

1. eager
2. lustful
3. moved, impressed, especially by fear

References

• Eivind Vågslid (1988) Norderlendske fyrenamn (in Norwegian Nynorsk), →ISBN, page 77
• “dan” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “dan” in Ivar Aasen (1873) Norsk Ordbog med dansk Forklaring

Plautdietsch

Etymology

From Middle Low German dan, from Old Saxon than, from Proto-West Germanic *þan.

Adverb

dan

1. then (sequential), after that

Polabian

Etymology

From Proto-Slavic *dьnь.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdan/

Noun

dan m ?

1. day

Saterland Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian than, from Proto-West Germanic *þan, from Proto-Germanic *þan. Cognates include West Frisian dan and German dann.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dan/
• Hyphenation: dan
• Rhymes: -an

Adverb

dan

1. then (in that case)

Conjunction

dan

1. for, since

References

• Marron C. Fort (2015) “dan”, in Saterfriesisches Wörterbuch mit einer phonologischen und grammatischen Übersicht, Buske, →ISBN

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• den (Kajkavian)

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *dьnь (“day”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dâːn/
• Rhymes: -âːn

Noun

dȃn m (Cyrillic spelling да̑н)

1. day

Declension

Derived terms

• dánju
• dȍbar dȃn
• dan i noć

See also

• dno

Slavomolisano

Etymology

From Serbo-Croatian dan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dâːn/

Noun

dan m

1. day

Declension

References

• Breu, W., Mader Skender, M. B. & Piccoli, G. 2013. Oral texts in Molise Slavic (Italy): Acquaviva Collecroce. In Adamou, E., Breu, W., Drettas, G. & Scholze, L. (eds.). 2013. EuroSlav2010: Elektronische Datenbank bedrohter slavischer Varietäten in nichtslavophonen Ländern Europas – Base de données électronique de variétés slaves menacées dans des pays européens non slavophones. Konstanz: Universität / Paris: Lacito (Internet Publication).

Slovene

Etymology 1

From Proto-Slavic *dьnь (“day”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dáːn/

Noun

dȃn m inan

1. day

   Antonym: nọ̑č

Declension

Derived terms

• days of the week: dnévi v tédnu (appendix): ponedéljek · tôrek · sréda · četŕtek · pétek · sobóta · nedélja ^[edit]
• dọ́ber dȃn

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dàːn/

Participle

dán

1. past passive participle of dáti

Declension

Further reading

• “dan”, in Slovarji Inštituta za slovenski jezik Frana Ramovša ZRC SAZU (in Slovene), 2014–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈdan/ [ˈd̪ãn]
• Rhymes: -an
• Syllabification: dan

Etymology 1

Noun

dan m (plural danes)

1. (martial arts) dan

Etymology 2

Verb

dan

1. third-person plural present indicative of dar

Further reading

• “dan”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10

Sursurunga

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Malcolm Ross, Andrew Pawley, Meredith Osmond (editors), The lexicon of Proto-Oceanic: The physical environment, Pacific Linguistics, 545-2. Australian National University, Canberra, 2003, page 59

Swedish

Alternative forms

• da'n

Etymology 1

Clipping of dagen

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑːn/

Noun

dan

1. (colloquial) Contraction of dagen., definite singular of dag

Derived terms

• grabben hela dan

Etymology 2

From Old Swedish dan, from Old Norse danir, from Proto-Germanic *daniz.

Noun

dan c

1. (historical) Dane (inhabitant of ancient Denmark)

Usage notes

Typically plural.

Declension

Etymology 3

The perfect participle of Middle Low German don, in other words: "done".

Adjective

dan (not comparable)

1. (colloquial) constituted in a certain manner

Declension

Derived terms

• halvdan
• hurdan
• likadan
• sådan

Related terms

• dana
• don

References

• dan in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• dan in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• dan in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Anagrams

• -nad, and

Tarpia

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Cornelis L. Voorhoeve, Languages of Irian Jaya Checklist (1975, Canberra: Pacific Linguistics), page 128

Volapük

Noun

dan (uncountable dans)

1. thanks

Declension

Warembori

Noun

dan

1. water

References

• Mark Donohue, Warembori, Lincom Europa, 1999

Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dan/
• Rhymes: -an

Etymology 1

Soft mutation of tan (“under”).

Preposition

dan (triggers soft mutation on a following noun)

1. under

   Synonym: islaw

2. (literary) Soft mutation of tan (“under”).

   Synonym: islaw

Usage notes

In literary Welsh, tan can mean both "under" and "until". In Welsh usage today, however, dan (originally the soft mutation of tan) has become a preposition in its own right with the meaning "under" whereas tan means "until", retaining the meaning "under" in certain expressions, compound words and place names. Modern dan or tan are not usually mutated. o dan is an alternative to dan.

Inflection

Alternative forms

• o dan

Derived terms

Mutation

Etymology 2

Verb

dan

1. (North Wales) first-person plural present colloquial of bod

Synonyms

• ydym, ŷm (literary)
• ŷn (South Wales)

Mutation

Dan does not mutate.

Western Maninkakan

Noun

dan

1. border

Wogeo

Noun

dan

1. (fresh) water

References

• Mats Exter, Phonetik und Phonologie des Wogeo (2003), Arbeitspapier, Neue Folge 46, Colonha, Institut für Sprachwissenschaft, Universität Köln, page 65
• Stephen Adolphe Wurm, New Guinea Area Languages and Language Study (1976)

Yoruba

Alternative forms

• dẹn (Òǹkò)

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dã̄/

Verb

dan

1. (transitive) to counteract or neutralize someone's charm or spell

   àwọn ológùn-ún dan araa wọn ― The men with ritual powers neutralized each other's spells

Derived terms

• ìdan
• ẹ̀dan (“neutralizing charm”)
• adan

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• dẹ́n (Òǹkò)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dã́/

Verb

dán

1. (intransitive, copulative, stative, descriptive) to shine, to be smooth

   àwọ̀ ọ́ dán ― The skin is shining

2. (transitive) to polish or shine something
3. (transitive) to boast

   Synonyms: dánnu, janu

4. (transitive) to scrape or smoothen something; to shave

   Synonym: fá

   ó dán orí rẹ̀ ― He shaved his head

Usage notes

• Sense 3 is primarily used in the form dánnu

Derived terms