With measures of time, weight, and distance, suffix -an forms adjectives meaning "done, happening, appearing once in the measure indicated by the root word.

With some nouns bases -an derives adjectives meaning "having many [root word], containing many [root word], or suffering from [root word]."

Suffix -an forms adjectives meaning "done, happening, appearing once"
bulan hari minggu kilo meter	"month" "day" "week" "kilogram" "meter"	bulanan harian mingguan kiloan meteran	"monthly" "daily" "weekly" "by the kilo" "by the meter"
Suffix -an meaning "having many [root word], containing many [root word], or suffering from [root word]
cacing jamur kudis semut uban	"worm" "fungus, mould" "scabies" "ant" "gray hair"	cacingan jamuran kudisan semutan ubanan	"infested with worms" "mouldy" "suffering from scabies" "suffer pins and needles" "gray haired"

EXAMPLES:

Majalah 'O' adalah sebuah majalah bulanan.
'O' magazine is a monthly magazine.

Baju-baju bekas itu dijual secara kiloan.
Those used clothes are sold by the kilo.

Banyak anak kecil yang menderita cacingan.
Many small children are infested with worms.

Meskipun masih muda, ia sudah ubanan.
Even though he is still young, he is gray-haired already.

Adapted from:
Indonesian: A Comprehensive Grammar Sneddon, James Neil, Routledge, London, 1996.

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