Panamanian

Part of speech: adjective, noun

Definitions

1. Relating to the country of Panama or its citizens
2. Describing the cultural, social, and economic aspects originating from Panama
3. Characterizing the nationality or heritage associated with individuals from Panama

Etymology: Panamanian is about as plain as demonyms get: it is the adjective and noun for a person or thing from Panama, built by adding the suffix "-ian" to the country's name. The one wrinkle is the extra "n" in the middle. English speakers add "-ian" to many place names (Victoria gives Victorian, Italy gives Italian), and in "Panamanian" the added "n" is a euphonic consonant, meaning it is there to make the word easier to say. Without it, "Panama" plus "-ian" would give an awkward run of vowels, so the sound was smoothed by inserting the "n" before the suffix. The same pattern shows up in other demonyms ending in "-manian" or "-nian", such as Romanian, which follows the same logic of linking a country name to a suffix through an added consonant. "Panamanian" therefore belongs to a large family of nationality words in English formed on the same model.