Syrian

How to spell syrian

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce syrian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does syrian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Syria, its people, or its culture.
2. nounA person from Syria or of Syrian descent.

Syrian in a sentence

• adjective

  The museum displayed ancient syrian pottery from Damascus.

• noun

  As a proud syrian, he often spoke about his childhood in Aleppo.

• adjective

  The restaurant serves traditional syrian dishes such as kibbeh and fattoush.

• noun

  The conference welcomed a syrian now living and working in Berlin.

Where does syrian come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is formed from the place name Syria together with the suffix -an, which English uses to turn a country or region into an adjective or a word for its people, as in 'African' and 'Italian'. Syria itself reached English through Latin Syria, which the Romans took from the Greek Syria, the Greek name for the land north of Phoenicia. Many scholars connect that Greek name to Assyria, the great Mesopotamian power, and ultimately to Aššur, the chief god and capital city of the Assyrians, so the name may literally preserve the memory of an ancient empire. The word has been used in English since the medieval period to describe the people, language, and culture of the region. The spelling traps are the single 'r', the 'y' standing in for an 'i' sound, and the unstressed '-ian' ending that sounds like a simple 'un'.

How the word is built

• Syria (the country name)
• -an (adjective/noun suffix meaning 'belonging to' or 'a person from')