-ānus, or Relating to Old Women

A number of adjectival endings denote what Allen and Greenough refer to as a ‘gentile’ relationship—demonstrating ‘relation to’ or ‘belonging to’ the corresponding class of nouns. One of these is -ānus, -a, -um.

• montānus, -a, -um, of mountains (mōns, montis, mountain)
• veterānus, -a, -um, of veterans (vetus, veteris (adj), old)
• antelūcānus, -a, -um, before daylight (ante lūcem, before light)
• Rōmānus, -a, -um, Roman (Rōma, -ae, Rome)
• Sullānī, -ōrum, of Sulla’s veterans (Sulla, -ae, Sulla)

Some of these derived adjectives have furthermore been transformed to new nouns.

• Silvānus, -ī, Silvanus, a woodlands deity (silva, -ae, the wood)
• membrāna, -ae, the skin (membrum, -ī, limb)

The Essential AG: 249.1, 249.2, 249.2a