China
English
Alternative forms
- Chin (obsolete)
Etymology
Borrowed from Portuguese China, from Persian چین from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from 秦 (qín, “Qin”), Middle Chinese: 秦 (MC d͡ziɪn), Old Chinese: 秦 (OC *zin), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉/晋 (jìn, “Jin”), Middle Chinese: 晉 (MC t͡siɪnH), Old Chinese: 晉 (OC *ʔsins), 荊/荆 (jīng, “Jing”), or the Zina of 夜郎 (Yèláng, “Yelang”). See "Names of China" at Wikipedia.
Pronunciation
- (UK, US) enPR: chī'nə, IPA(key): /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/, [ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]
Audio (US) (file) Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -aɪnə
Proper noun
China (usually uncountable, plural Chinas)
- A nation or civilization occupying the country around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers in East Asia, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.
- Synonyms: Cathay (used for medieval northern China, now archaizing), greater China (inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs, but not always all Chinese claims), Han, Han Chinese civilization
- 1555, Richard Eden translating Peter Martyr as The Decades of the Newe Worlde..., folio 230 verso:
- 1884, Mark Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
- If he tells them to build a palace forty miles long, out of di'monds, and fill it full of chewing gum, or whatever you want, and fetch an emperor's daughter from China for you to marry, they've got to do it—and they've got to do it before sun-up next morning, too.
- The People's Republic of China, the principal state in this country.
- Synonyms: Celestial Kingdom, Flowery Kingdom, Middle Kingdom
- 1971 December 6, "A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader", in US News & World Report, p. 61:
- 'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China
- 2017, Donald J. Trump, speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA
- And I met with the President of China at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.
- Synonym of mainland China
- from Macau to China
- (rare) A female given name transferred from the place name.
- 2001, Susan Wittig Albert, Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, chapter 1, 3:
- My name is China Bayles. I'm the owner of Thyme and Seasons and the co-owner, with Ruby Wilcox, of a new tearoom called Thyme for Tea.
- 2014 Neil D. A. Stewart, The Glasgow Coma Scale, Constable & Robinson, →ISBN, page 159:
- 'What's her name, this girl?' The fight had hoarsened Lynne's voice, and the words came out strangely staccato - a wooden doll that had just learned to speak.
- 'China,' he mumbled, feeling an obscure desire to invent a pseudonym for her.
- 'What an interesting name.'
- Angus struck the table edge hard. 'Aw, don't gies it.'
- 'I don't know what you mean. Or is it a nickname? Fragile, is she?'
- 2001, Susan Wittig Albert, Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, chapter 1, 3:
- An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
- A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.
- An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.
- A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.
- A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.
- A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.
Synonyms
- (principal states at different periods): Xia, Shang, Zhou (kingdoms); Qin, Han, Jin, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing (empires); Warring States, Three Kingdoms (regions); Republic of China or Chinese Republic, People's Republic of China or Chinese People's Republic
Derived terms
- all the tea in China
- China aster
- chinaberry
- China Continental
- China doll
- China hand
- Chinaman (derogatory)
- China proper
- China rose
- China's Sorrow
- China syndrome
- Chinatown
- China watcher
- Chinese
- Communist China
- East China Sea
- Free China
- Great Wall of China
- made in China
- mainland China
- Nationalist China
- People's Republic of China
- Red China
- Republic of China
- South China Sea
Descendants
Related terms
Translations
See China/translations § Proper noun.
Noun
China (plural Chinas)
- (obsolete) A Chinese person.
- (obsolete) Alternative form of cheyney: woollen stuff; items made or filled with cheyney.
- (botany) Clipping of China rose: various flowers.
- (botany, beverages) Clipping of China tea.
- (rhyming slang) Alternative form of china: a mate, a friend.
Gallery
An 1844 map of China (i.e., the Qing Empire), including Taiwan, Mongolia, Korea, eastern Manchuria (now Russian), and Assam in India.
A 1932 map of the Far East, showing China (i.e., China Proper) without Manchuria, Mongolia (i.e., Greater Mongolia), "Sinkiang", "Tibit", or Japanese Taiwan.
A map of the divisions of the Republic of China in 1944, from the American propaganda film Why We Fight: The Battle of China.
The CIA's 2008 map of China, showing the PRC's claim on Taiwan (but not the South China Sea) and India's claim on the PRC (but not China's on Arunachal Pradesh).
A 2002 map of the railways of China, showing the PRC and ROC's nine-dash claim in the South China Sea. Both Chinas also claim the "Diaoyu" Islands, administered as Japan's Senkakus.
See also
- (countries of Asia) country of Asia; Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Georgia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen
- Appendix:Place names in China
- Appendix:Countries of the world
- "Names of China" and "China in world languages" at Wikipedia
Anagrams
Afrikaans
Alternative forms
Etymology
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China
Asturian
Proper noun
China f
Related terms
Central Huasteca Nahuatl
Proper noun
China
Dutch
Etymology
(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China n
Derived terms
Galician
Proper noun
China f
Derived terms
German
Etymology
From Persian چینی (čini, “Chinese; porcelain”), compound of چین (čin, “China”) and the suffix ـی (-i), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (čīn, “China”), ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈçiːna/, /ˈʃiːna/
audio (file)
- (southern Germany, Austria, Switzerland) IPA(key): /ˈkiːna/
audio (file)
- Hyphenation: Chi‧na
Proper noun
China n (genitive Chinas, plural China)
Declension
Usage notes
- The plural China refers to the People's Republic of China (German: Volksrepublik China (short: VR China), Festlandchina (Mainland China), Rotchina (Red China)) and the Republic of China (Taiwan) (German: Republik China (auf Taiwan), Inselchina).
Hunsrik
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China n
Further reading
Indonesian
Etymology
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China
- (nonstandard, now possibly derogatory) China (a country in eastern Asia)
- (nonstandard, now possibly derogatory) Chinese (language)
Usage notes
In Indonesia, this term is still also in common use, but (as of March 2014) it is rarely used by most Indonesian-language media and is no longer used by the Indonesian Government because of the extremely offensive nature of the standard form Cina.
Derived terms
See also
Interlingua
Proper noun
China
Malay
Alternative forms
Etymology
From English China, from Middle Persian [script needed] (ṣīn, “Chinese; porcelain”), probably from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “a people of south-eastern Tibet”).
Pronunciation
- (Johor-Selangor) IPA(key): /t͡ʃinə/
- (Riau-Lingga) IPA(key): /t͡ʃina/
- Rhymes: -inə, -nə, -ə
Proper noun
China
Occitan
Alternative forms
Proper noun
China f
Derived terms
References
- Patric Guilhemjoan, Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005, →ISBN, page 146.
Portuguese
Etymology
Perhaps from Hindi चीन (cīn) and ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China f
Quotations
For quotations using this term, see Citations:China.
Romanian
Etymology
Ultimately from Sanskrit चीन (cīna).
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China f
Derived terms
Related terms
Shona
Etymology
From -china (“fourth”), counting the days of the working week from Monday.
Noun
China 7
See also
- (days of the week) mazuva evhiki; Muvhuro, Chipiri, Chitatu, China, Chishanu, Mugovera / Chitanhatu (Zezuru), Svondo (Category: sn:Days of the week)
Spanish
Etymology
Pronunciation
Proper noun
China f
Derived terms
Related terms
Descendants
- → Tagalog: Tsina
Swahili
Pronunciation
Audio (Kenya) (file)
Proper noun
China
- Alternative form of Uchina