Tunisian

How to spell tunisian

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce tunisian

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does tunisian mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to Tunisia, its people, or its culture.
2. nounA native or inhabitant of Tunisia.

Tunisian in a sentence

• adjective

  The restaurant serves a rich tunisian stew flavoured with harissa.

• noun

  Every tunisian at the conference spoke warmly about the new trade deal.

• adjective

  She studied the tunisian coastline for her geography dissertation.

• noun

  The footballer is a tunisian who plays for a club in France.

Where does tunisian come from?

Language of origin: Arabic

This word is built on Tunisia, the North African country, which in turn takes its name from its capital city, Tunis. The name Tunis is very old and reaches English through French (Tunisie) and ultimately from Arabic Tunis, the name by which the city has long been known; some scholars connect it to a Berber root meaning roughly 'to spend the night' or 'encampment', though the deeper origin is debated. English added the productive suffix -ian, the same ending seen in words like 'Italian' and 'Egyptian', to form an adjective and noun meaning 'of Tunisia' or 'a native of Tunisia'. The word entered common English use as European contact with North Africa grew, especially during the colonial period of the 1800s when France administered the territory. The spelling trap lies in the single 's' and the unstressed '-ian' ending, since the related country name supplies the steady core 'Tunis' that the suffix simply extends.

How the word is built

• Tunis (the capital city and country name)
• -ian (suffix forming 'belonging to' or 'a person from')