Belgian

How to spell belgian

7 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce belgian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does belgian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Belgium, its people, or its products.
2. nounA person who is from or a citizen of Belgium.

Belgian in a sentence

• adjective

  The cafe is famous for its belgian chocolate and waffles.

• noun

  As a proud belgian, she always cheers for the national football team.

• adjective

  He ordered a glass of strong belgian beer with dinner.

• noun

  Every belgian in the office speaks both French and Dutch.

Where does belgian come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word is built on Belgium, the name of the country in northwestern Europe, which in turn looks back to the Latin Belgae, the name the Romans gave to the tribes who lived in that corner of Gaul. Julius Caesar famously opened his account of the Gallic Wars by ranking the Belgae as the bravest of those peoples, and their name later survived as a learned label for the region. When the modern state was founded in 1830 it revived this classical name, and the everyday English adjective and noun were formed by adding the familiar -ian ending, the same suffix seen in Italian and Canadian. The spelling trap lives in that suffix: the soft 'g' is followed by the letters '-ian', not the '-ion' that ends so many other words, and there is no 'e' after the 'g'. Keeping the link to Belgium in mind, where the 'g' is also soft, helps fix the shape in memory.

How the word is built

• Belg- (from Belgium, land of the ancient Belgae)
• -ian (adjective and noun suffix meaning 'of or belonging to')