Suffix · forms material adjectives
From Old English "-en": turns material nouns into adjectives meaning made of or having the qualities of that material. Golden, silken, brazen, ashen, leaden, wooden.
Written by Bryan López, English teacher · Updated
The adjectival suffix -en (distinct from the verbal -en of darken, enlighten) comes from Old English and converts material nouns into adjectives meaning "made of X" or "having the qualities of X". golden = having the qualities of gold (gold + en). wooden = made of wood, with wooden properties. silken = silky, smooth as silk (silk + en). earthen = made of earth or clay (earth + en). ashen = ash-grey, pale as ash (ash + en).
"brazen" comes from "brass" + en. It has two meanings: 1. Literal (archaic/poetic): made of brass or bronze: "brazen trumpets." 2. Figurative (common modern use): bold and shameless, showing no remorse: "a brazen lie." "brazen impudence." "leaden" comes from "lead" (the metal) + en and has three meanings: 1. Made of lead: "leaden pipes." 2. Heavy and slow like lead: "leaden footsteps." 3. Oppressive, gloomy: "a leaden sky." "leaden silence." Very literary.
The distinction between the material noun and the -en adjective is important: gold (the metal) vs golden (having gold-like qualities): "a gold ring" = a ring made of gold (the physical material). "golden hair" = hair the colour of gold. "the golden age" = an age of great prosperity. silk (the fabric) vs silken (silky): "a silk scarf" = a scarf made of silk. "a silken voice" = a smooth, gentle voice. "silken diplomacy" = smooth and skilful diplomacy. The -en form emphasises quality or resemblance, not the physical material.
Material noun + en. Produces adjectives meaning "made of" or "having the qualities of" that material.
Many -en material adjectives are archaic or literary: silvern, oaken, waxen, flaxen. Golden, wooden and brazen are the most used in modern English. Note: "iron" as an adjective does not use -en: "iron will", "iron curtain" (not "ironen").
-en (adj. from material)/ən/ · sounds like un
Tap the button to hear how the ending sounds. Each word in the table has its own audio.
"a gold ring" = a ring physically made of gold. "golden hair" = hair the colour of gold (not literally gold). "the golden age" = an era of great prosperity. -en stresses quality, not material.
"a brazen lie" = a lie told without any shame. "brazen impudence." The literal "made of brass" meaning is archaic and poetic today.
"a wooden performance" = a stiff, expressionless performance, lacking emotion. "a wooden smile" = a forced, lifeless smile. The figurative use is very common.
A trick to remember it
-en (adj.) = made of or having the qualities of that material. Key words: golden (ideal/gold-coloured), leaden (oppressive/heavy), brazen (shameless), ashen (pale as ash), silken (silky). Golden = quality of gold; gold = the physical metal.
Exercise 1 · Form the word
Exercise 2 · Pick the right one
"A brazen lie" means...
Exercise 3 · Pick the right one
"A wooden performance" means...
The suffix -en (adj. from material) from Old English "-en": turns material nouns into adjectives meaning made of or having the qualities of that material. Golden, silken, brazen, ashen, leaden, wooden. In Spanish it usually maps to de + material / golden / silken.
The ending -en (adj. from material) is pronounced /ən/ · sounds like un. For example, "golden".
"gold" becomes "golden". It is a typical example of the -en (adj. from material) suffix.
From Old English "-nian": turns adjectives into causative verbs meaning to make more X or to become X. Darken, enlighten, deepen, strengthen, heighten.
From Italian "-esco": means "in the style of" or "reminiscent of". Kafkaesque, picturesque, grotesque.
Turns proper nouns into style or period adjectives: Orwellian = relating to Orwell's ideas of surveillance and totalitarianism.
-tion, -ness, -ful, -ly, -able... every ending you need to understand thousands of words at once.