Alabamian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A person who was born in or who lives in the southern United States state of Alabama
2. Someone native to or residing within Alabama, one of the states in the American South
3. A resident or native of the U.S. state of Alabama, known for its Gulf Coast and Appalachian regions

Etymology: Alabamian is a plain formation: the place name Alabama with the suffix "-ian" attached, the same ending found in words like "Victorian" or "Floridian." The suffix itself travels a long road. It descends from Latin "-ianus," itself built from "-ius" and "-anus," adjectival endings that Latin used to turn names into descriptions of people or things connected with them, and it reached English through French and Latin borrowings. The place name is the more interesting half. Adding "-ian" to a place name is the standard way English speakers mark a person's home, so the word works exactly as its parts suggest.

Synonyms: Alabaman