qilin

See also: qílín

English

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 麒麟 (qílín). Doublet of kirin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʃiː.lɪn/, /ˈkiː.lɪn/

Noun

qilin (plural qilins)

1. A mythical Chinese hooved chimerical creature, said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage.
   • 1989, Ernst J. Grube, Eleanor G. Sims, Islamic Art: Volume 3:

     ...a red and gold textile with phoenixes in one row swooping towards qilins in the next amidst a densely foliated ground...

   • 2001, David J. Roxburgh, Prefacing the image: the writing of art history in sixteenth-century Iran:

     Roundel depicting dragon attacked by qilins; mounted on an album page.

   • 2010, Molly Blaisdell, Necdet Yilmaz, Truth about Unicorns:

     When the qilin leaves, the emperor traces the shapes he saw into the dirt.

Alternative forms

• kilin, kirin, kylin

Translations

mythical creature

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 麒麟 (kei⁴ leon⁴)

  Eastern Min: 麒麟 (gì-lìng)

  Hokkien: 麒麟 (zh-min-nan) (kî-lîn)

  Mandarin: 麒麟 (zh) (qílín)

  Wu: 麒麟 (⁶ji-lin)

• Finnish: qilin
• French: qilin (fr) m
• German: Qilin m
• Japanese: 麒麟 (ja) (kirin)
• Korean: 기린 (ko) (girin)
• Russian: цили́нь m (cilínʹ)
• Thai: กิเลน (th) (gì-leen)
• Vietnamese: kì lân, kỳ lân (vi)

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki.lin/, /tʃi.lin/

Noun

qilin m (plural qilins)

1. (Chinese mythology) qilin