Liao

See also: liao, liáo, liào, liāo, and liǎo

English

Etymology 1

A romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 遼／辽 (Liáo)

Proper noun

Liao

1. A river of Manchuria (northeastern China)
   • 1934, T. O'Conroy, The Menace of Japan‎^[1], London: Hurst & Blackett, →OCLC, page 159:

     The centre of Chinese influence in Manchuria was mainly Liaotung peninsula and along the Liao River valley.

   • 1939, Walker Matheson, “The U. S. Joins in the Battle of the Concessions”, in North American Review‎^[2], volume 248, number 1, →ISSN, →JSTOR, →OCLC, pages 50–51:

     Naturally the Japanese destroyed or captured the greater part of the obsolete Chinese Navy, drove the Chinese armies out of Korea, occupied Southern Manchuria as far west as the Liao River, and invaded Shantung.

   • 2006 October 13, Grace Glueck, “A Surprising Redoubt of Glittering Prizes”, in The New York Times‎^[3], →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on January 16, 2018, Art & Design‎^[4]:

     To the Han people, the Khitan were not much more than barbarians. Interlopers from the Mongolian steppes, they moved into the northern provinces of China in the 10th century and established the Liao empire (named for the Liao River), one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties of its time.

   • 2015, Frank McLynn, “The Invasion of the Jin Empire”, in Genghis Khan: The Man Who Conquered the World‎^[5], Vintage Books, published 2016, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 206:

     After proceeding south-east to Yung-Ping (on the Bohai Sea), he then struck north-east to the Liao River, following Jebe’s route a year earlier, and penetrated deep into Manchuria, following, first, the north-easterly course of the Sunggari (Songhua) River, the largest tributary of the mighty Amur.

   • 2021 November 10, Will Dunham, “Japanese-Korean-Turkish language group traced to farmers in ancient China”, in Rosalba O'Brien, editor, Reuters‎^[6], archived from the original on 10 November 2021, China:

     This language family's beginnings were traced to Neolithic millet farmers in the Liao River valley, an area encompassing parts of the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and Jilin and the region of Inner Mongolia. […]
     The origins of modern Chinese languages arose independently, though in a similar fashion with millet also involved. While the progenitors of the Transeurasian languages grew broomcorn millet in the Liao River valley, the originators of the Sino-Tibetan language family farmed foxtail millet at roughly the same time in China's Yellow River region, paving the way for a separate language dispersal, Robbeets said.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Liao.
2. One of various medieval dynasties of Khitan rulers in Chinese history originally from its watershed
3. (uncommon) Liaoning, a Chinese province surrounding and named for the Liao watershed

Synonyms

• Khitan Empire, Khitan Dynasty, Northern Liao, Western Liao, Kara-Khitan Khanate (dynasties)

Translations

river; dynasties; abbreviation

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 遼／辽 (zh) (Liáo)

Further reading

• Leon E. Seltzer, editor (1952), “Liao River”, in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World‎^[7], Morningside Heights, NY: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 1049, column 1
• Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Liao”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎^[8], volume 2, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 1729, column 1

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Mandarin 廖 (Liào).

Proper noun

Liao

1. A surname from Chinese.

Translations

surname

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 廖 (zh) (Liào)

Etymology 3

A romanization of the Mandarin Chinese pronunciation of 僚 (Liáo)

Proper noun

Liao

1. Synonym of Rau, a people of southeastern China

Translations

people group

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 僚 (zh) (Liáo)

Anagrams

• Aloi, Oail