Alan
/ˈalən/ /əˈlɑːn/ /ˈeɪlən/noun
A member of a nomadic people of the northern Caucasus from whom the Ossetians are thought to be descended.
- The Alans are first mentioned in Roman sources as dwelling near the Caspian Sea..
adjective
Of or relating to the Alans or their language; Alanic.
Origin
Late Middle English; earliest use found in Vegetius' De Re Militari. From classical Latin Alānus (plural Alānī) member of an ancient Iranian-speaking people, related to the Scythians and Sarmatians from an Iranian ethnonym, apparently from the same Indo-Iranian base as Old Persian ariya + a suffix from the Indo-European base of -an.