-ens

Suffix (1)

-en

1. (idiomatic) Denotes the past participle form when attached to a verb.
   • take + -en → taken
2. (archaic) Denotes a quasi-past participle or participle-like adjective when attached to a noun or verb.
   • fork + -en → forken (“forked”)

Suffix (2)

-en

1. Used to denote the plural form of a small number of English nouns, the majority of whose etymologies go back to the n-stem (i.e. weak noun) declension of Germanic languages.
   • aurochs + -en → aurochsen
   • brother + -en → brethren (religious sense)
   • child + -en → children (cf. childer)
   • ox + -en → oxenExamples in general modern use
2. (dialectal, humorous, nonstandard, often, rare) Used to form the plural of nouns.
   • box + -en → boxen

Suffix (3)

-en (verb-forming suffix, third-person singular simple present -ens, present participle -ening, simple past and past participle -ened)

1. When attached to certain adjectives, it forms a transitive verb whose meaning is, to make (adjective). Usually, the verb is ergative, sometimes not. The same construction could also be done to certain (fewer) nouns, as, strengthen, in which case the verb means roughly, "to give (noun) to", or "to become like (noun)".
   • white (adjective) + -en → whiten

Suffix (4)

-en (adjective-forming suffix, comparative more -en, superlative most -en)

1. Pertaining to, having the qualities of, resembling, or like.
   • wolf + -en → wolven

See all 13 meanings of -en