Nan

Nan– is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “very small, minute.” In names of units of measure, it means “one billionth.” It is very occasionally used in scientific and technical terms.

Nan– comes from Greek nânos or nánnos, meaning “dwarf.”

What are variants of nan-?

Nan– is a variant of nano–, which loses its –o– when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use nano– article.

One example of a medical term that uses the form nan– is nanoid, meaning “dwarfish” or “abnormally small.”

The nan– part of the word means “very small,” as we have already seen. What about the –oid part of nanoid? The suffix –oid means “resembling; like.” Nanoid literally translates to “resembling something small.”

What are some words that use the combining form nan-?

• nanism (using the equivalent form of nan- in French)
• nanite
• nanobe
• nanous

What are some other forms that nan– may be commonly confused with?

• meno-
• non-

Not every word that begins with the exact letters nan-, such as nanua or nanny, is necessarily using the combining form nan– to denote “very small.” Learn why nanny means “caretaker” at our entry for the word.

The suffix –ism can denote state or conditions. With this in mind, what does nanism literally mean?