Albanian

How to spell albanian

8 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce albanian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does albanian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Albania, its people, or its language.
2. nounA person from Albania, or the language spoken there.

Albanian in a sentence

• adjective

  The menu featured several albanian dishes from the Balkans.

• noun

  As a fluent albanian, he translated documents for new arrivals.

• adjective

  She studied albanian history during her year abroad.

• noun

  The conference welcomed an albanian who spoke about regional trade.

Where does albanian come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on the place name Albania combined with the English suffix -ian, which marks belonging or origin. The country name reached English through Medieval Latin Albania, and its deeper roots are debated: one long-standing explanation traces it to the ancient Illyrian tribe the Romans called the Albanoi, while another connects it to an old root 'alb' meaning 'hill' or 'mountain', a fitting description for the rugged terrain. Albanians themselves call their land Shqiperia, so the English form is an outside label rather than a native one. The -ian ending arrived through French and Latin and is the same pattern seen in 'Italian' and 'Canadian'. The spelling trap is simply the single 'l' and the 'ia' before the 'n', which writers sometimes scramble.

How the word is built

• Alban- (from Albania, the country)
• -ian (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'belonging to')