Skip to main content
Tennessean

Tennessean

4 4.9
A person who was born in or lives in the state of Tennessee in the United States
  • noun
  • /ˌtɛnəˈsiːən/
: tennesseense
  • My hometown paper, The Nashville Tennessean, where Al Gore cut his teeth, endorsed Republicans for the first time in history.
  • Tennessean from Nashville

My, some of my closest friends are suffering from mental issues in Tennessee under one in five Tennesseans.

Examples

  • His secretary of war and fellow Tennessean, John Eaton, was staunchly loyal and pro-Removal.

    Academic text (2007)
  • So let's look at this other interview coming from The Tennessean, which was quite good.

  • The story was reported Friday morning in The Tennessean.

    Blog text (2)
  • I looked up, saw this sign, and it hit me that I'm a Tennessean.

    Blog text (10)
  • Aldean spoke with The Tennessean about what the first week of 'Night Train' has been like for him:

    Blog text (30)
  • But the article from the Tennessean does not give a detailed breakdown of the types of events Thompson held.

    Blog text (18)
  • Brad tells The Tennessean, "I'm encouraging people to take a look around."

    Blog text (18)
  • The Tennessean reports that Flora Tydings was confirmed as college system chancellor on Tuesday.

    Academic text (2016)
  • King wasn't the only Tennessean at Prater's Mill Saturday.

    Blog text (11)
  • As a proud Tennessean, she loves sharing stories about her hometown with newcomers.

Synonyms

southerner
vsTennessean
2 2.7

A person who comes from or lives in the south of a country

is from one specific US state rather than a broader regional area

Surface Forms

Tennessean singular
Tennesseans plural

Morphology

Tennessean = Tennessee (transparent) = Tennessee + an

The demonym is a direct and regular formation from the place name 'Tennessee' plus the productive suffix '-an' meaning 'from/related to'.

Etymology

The word Tennessean comes from the state name Tennessee, which probably comes from a Cherokee place name 'Tanasi'. The ending -an means 'person from', just like in American, so a Tennessean is someone from Tennessee.