China
Language: English
Part of speech: name
Pronunciation: enpr: chī'nə
ipa: /ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/
ipa: [ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]
enpr: chīʹnu̇
rhymes: -aɪnə
Forms: form: Chinas
form: Chin
form: Chyna
Etymology: From Portuguese China, from possibly Venetan Cina probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn) under influence from Medieval Latin Sina (“China”), from Middle Persian 𐭰𐭩𐭭 (Čīn, “China”), from Sanskrit चीन (cīna, “the Chinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived from Chinese 秦 (Qín) (sm Qín, mc d͡ziɪn, oc *zin, "Qin"), the westernmost ancient Chinese state, but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from 晉 /晋 (jìn) (sm Jìn, mc t͡siɪn, oc *ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state; 荊 /荆 (jīng) (sm Jīng, mc kˠiæŋ, oc *keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state; or Zina, the endonym of the people of the Yelang kingdom. See "Names of China" and "Chinas" at Wikipedia. As a female name, usually derived via china (“porcelain”) and china doll, ultimately from the same source.
Senses: examples: text: China has 5000 years of history.
text: The great China, whose kyng is thought... the greatest prince in the worlde.
ref: 1555, Peter Martyr, translated by Richard Eden, The Decades of the Newe Worlde..., folio 230 verso:
text: All China is divided into 15 Provinces, which are bigger than large Kingdoms.
ref: 1693, Robert Morden, “Of China”, in Geography Rectified; or a Description of the World, 3rd edition, →OCLC, page 438:
text: 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.
ref: 1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC:
glosses: A cultural region and civilization in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers, taken as a whole under its various dynasties.
examples: text: 'Only a Nixon' Could Go to China
ref: 1971 December 6, “A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader”, in US News & World Report, page 61:
text: 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.
text: China is 75 years old as of October 1, 2024.
text: Saturday’s tariffs are unlikely to be Trump’s last. The president said himself said in the Oval Office that additional tariffs could come by mid-February on chips, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, oil and gas imports – along with tariffs on the European Union – all threats that few would discount given his willingness to follow through on the North American and China tariffs on Saturday.
ref: 2025 February 1, Kevin Liptak, “With stiff tariffs he promised now in place, Trump opens a new trade war”, in CNN:
glosses: A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.
examples: text: The gambling winnings were transferred from Macau to China.
glosses: Synonym of mainland China.
synonyms: word: mainland China
examples: text: It will not change the historical and legal facts that there is only one China in the world.
glosses: China in One China, asserting that there is only one de jure Chinese nation
glosses: Any of the empires occupying similar territory to that of the modern nation of China, ruled under various dynasties up through the early 20th century.
glosses: The Republic of China prior to 1949, and sometimes after that time, particularly up through the early 1970's or so (when the People's Republic of China assumed the United Nations seat allocated to China).
examples: text: 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.
ref: 2001, Susan Wittig Albert, chapter 1, in Bloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group, →ISBN, page 3:
text: '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?'
ref: 2014, Neil D. A. Stewart, The Glasgow Coma Scale, Constable & Robinson, →ISBN, page 159:
glosses: A female given name.
glosses: An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
examples: text: The golden baked pâté chinois, a shepherd's pie, uses a recipe brought back to Quebec by miners working in China, Me.
ref: 1991 December 8, Nancy Lyon, “Quebec's Cuisine Has a New Flavor”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC:
glosses: A town in Kennebec County, Maine, United States.
glosses: An unincorporated community in Howell County, Missouri, United States.
glosses: A hamlet in Delaware County, New York, United States.
glosses: A small city in Jefferson County, Texas, United States.
glosses: A municipality and town in Nuevo León, Mexico.
Synonyms: sense: nation
english: northern medieval China
translation: northern medieval China
word: Cathay
sense: nation
word: Manji
sense: nation
english: southern medieval China
translation: southern medieval China
word: Mangi
sense: nation
english: culture
translation: culture
word: Han
sense: nation
english: inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims
translation: inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims
word: Greater China
sense: nation
word: Chinkland
sense: nation
english: some religious contexts
translation: some religious contexts
word: Sinim
topics: state
word: Middle Kingdom
topics: state
word: Chinese Empire
topics: state
word: Celestial Kingdom
topics: state
word: Flowery Kingdom
topics: state
word: Zhongguo
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Xia
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Shang
sense: principal states at different periods
english: kingdoms
translation: kingdoms
word: Zhou
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Qin
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Han
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Jin
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Sui
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Tang
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Song
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Yuan
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Ming
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Qing
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Chinese Empire
sense: principal states at different periods
english: empires
translation: empires
word: Empire of China
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Warring States
sense: principal states at different periods
english: regions
translation: regions
word: Three Kingdoms
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Republic of China
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Chinese Republic
sense: principal states at different periods
word: People's Republic of China
sense: principal states at different periods
word: Chinese People's Republic
Derived terms: word: all the tea in China
word: Blue China
word: Capitan China
word: China aster
word: chinaberry
word: China continental
word: China cymbal
word: China doll
word: China hand
word: China Hat
word: Chinaman
word: China matting
word: Chinaphobia
word: China plus one
word: China proper
word: China rose
word: China Seas
word: China shock
word: China's Sorrow
word: China Standard Time
word: China syndrome
word: Chinatown
word: China watcher
word: China White
word: China white
word: Chinese
word: Cochin-China
word: Communist China
word: East China Sea
word: Empire of China
word: Free China
word: Great Wall of China
word: made in China
word: mainland China
word: Nationalist China
word: People's Republic of China
word: Red China
word: Republic of China
word: South China Sea
Related terms: Sino-