belgian

IPA/ˈbel.dʒən/
KK[bˈɛldʒən]IPA/ˈbel.dʒən/

belgian — adjective

  • belgianpositive
  • more belgiancomparative
  • most belgiansuperlative

1. describes something that comes from the western European country of Belgium, or

1.adjectiveA1
Definition

describes something that comes from the western European country of Belgium, or is connected with its people, culture, or products.

Example

Mei bought a box of Belgian chocolates for her aunt in Taipei.

attributive use: Belgian + noun (chocolates)

Belgian beer is famous all over the world for its many different flavours.

attributive use: Belgian + noun (beer)

Common collocations
  • Belgian chocolate
  • Belgian beer
  • Belgian waffle
  • Belgian government
  • Belgian coast
  • Belgian border

Grammar Patterns

belgian + noun

Usage Note

Always written with a capital letter because it comes from the name of a country. Used only before a noun (attributive position).

Common Mistakes

Belgium beer is popular.
Belgian beer is popular.
Use the adjective 'Belgian' for describing things; 'Belgium' is the name of the country, not an adjective.
belgian chocolates' (lowercase b).
Belgian chocolates' (capital B).
Nationality words are always capitalised in English.

belgian — noun

Word family

  • Belgium
    proper nounA1

Synonym discussion

Sense: adjective/1

While 'Belgian' and 'Belgium' both refer to the same country, they serve different grammatical roles. 'Belgian' is an adjective or a person-noun: 'Belgian chocolate', 'a Belgian'. 'Belgium' is a proper noun for the country itself: 'Belgium is in western Europe'. Learners often mix them by saying 'Belgium food' (incorrect) instead of 'Belgian food'. A simple test: if you can replace the word with 'American' and the sentence still works, use 'Belgian'; if you can replace it with 'America', use 'Belgium'.

belgian ↗belgium

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • Belgian-born
  • Belgian-made

Prepositions

  • from Belgium

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'Belgian' comes from the name 'Belgium', which was the Latin name for the region inhabited by the Belgae — a group of Celtic and Germanic tribes in what is now northern France and Belgium. The modern country of Belgium was created in 1830 after it became independent from the Netherlands, and the adjective 'Belgian' has been used in English since the 16th century.

First known use

1830

1830, in the meaning defined at sense 1