zetani
Italian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Latin sētā (“silk”), probably via unattested Late Latin *sētīnus (“silken [cloth]”).[1] Very frequently folk-etymologized to derive from Arabic زيتون (“Zayton; olive”),[2] a calque of Quanzhou's former Chinese nickname 刺桐城 (Cìtóngchéng, “Tung Tree City”), after the trees which had been extensively planted there in the 10th century by Liu Congxiao,[3] but the derivation is unsupported.[1]
Noun edit
zetani m (invariable)
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "satin, n. (and adj.)" in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1909.
- ^ E.g., Henry Yule's "Chinchew" entry for the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., 1878.
- ^ Kauz, Ralph. Aspects of the Maritime Silk Road, p. 145.