FromPortugueseChina,^[1][2] probably under influence fromOld FrenchChin,^[3] fromClassical Persianچین(čīn), fromMiddle Persian𐭰𐭩𐭭(Čīn,“China”), fromSanskritचीन(cīna,“theChinese; China”) of uncertain etymology. It is usually thought to be derived fromChinese秦(Qín) (smQín,mcd͡ziɪn,oc*zin, "Qin"), the westernmostancient Chinese state,^[4][5][6] but other theories have been proposed, including derivation from晉 /晋(jìn) (smJìn,mct͡siɪn,oc*ʔsins, "Jin"), another important ancient state;^[7]荊 /荆(jīng) (smJīng,mckˠiæŋ,oc*keŋ, "Chu"), the southernmost ancient Chinese state;^[8] orZina, the endonym of the people of theYelang kingdom.^[8] See "Names of China" and "Chinas" atWikipedia. As a female name, usually derived viachina(“porcelain”) andchina doll, ultimately from the same source.

• (area and state in East Asia):Chin(obsolete)
• (female name):Chyna

• (UK,US)enPR:chī'nə,IPA^(key):/ˈt͡ʃaɪnə/,[ˈt͡ʃ(ʰ)aɪ̯nə]

  • Audio(UK):

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  • Audio(US,female voice):

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• Rhymes:-aɪnə

China (usuallyuncountable,pluralChinas)

1. Anation orcivilizationoccupying theregion around theYellow,Yangtze, andPearlRivers inEast Asia,taken as awhole under itsvariousdynasties.
   • 1555,Peter Martyr, translated by Richard Eden,The Decades of the Newe Worlde...,folio 230verso:

     The greatChina, whosekyng is thought... the greatest prince in theworlde.

   • 1884 December 10,Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens],The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London:Chatto & Windus, […],→OCLC:

     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 fromChina for you to marry, they've got to do it—and they've got to do it before sun-up next morning, too.

   • 1987, Geoffrey Marston, “Abandonment of Territorial Claims: The Cases of Bouvet and Spratly Islands”, inThe British Year Book of International Law 1986‎^[5], volume57,Oxford:Clarendon Press,→ISBN,→OCLC,page356:

     The Commissioner General asked for Foreign Office guidance in view of his information about earlier events relating to the British claim. In reply, the Foreign Office, in a telegram dated 12 June 1956, pointed out that as there was now a territorial dispute involving the twoChinas, the Philippines and possibly Vietnam over the Nansha Islands the British vessel should ‘stay well clear’ of Spratly Island.

   • 1998,George H. W. Bushet al.,A World Transformed‎^[6],New York:Alfred A. Knopf,→ISBN,page93:

     After I was nominated to the vice-presidency,Ronald Reagan asked me to go toChina to reassureDeng that, despite having mentioned it in a campaign speech, he did not believe in twoChinas, and that he would honor theShanghai Communiqué—which declared, in effect, that there was butoneChina. Joined by his top foreign policy team, Deng listened carefully as I explained that Reagan’s statement had been taken out of context. Just as I was finishing, a door opened and a message was passed down the line of advisors until it reached Deng. On reading it, he looked puzzled and annoyed. “He did it again!” he announced. “Ronald Reagan has again referred to ‘twoChinas’ in a speech!” I talked fast and got out of there.

   China has 5000 years of history.

3. A large country inEast Asia, occupying the region around theYellow,Yangtze, andPearlRivers; thePeople's Republic of China, since 1949.
   • 1971 December 6, “A Size-up of President Nixon: Interview with Mike Mansfield, Senate Democratic Leader”, inUS News & World Report, page61:

     'Only a Nixon' Could Go toChina

   • 2017,Donald J. Trump,speech at Make America Great Again Rally, Harrisburg, PA

     And I met with the President ofChina at great length in Florida, and we had long, long talks—hours and hours and hours.

   China is 75 years old as ofOctober 1, 2024

4. Synonym ofmainland China.

   The gambling winnings were transferred from Macau toChina.

5. (historical) Any of theempires occupying similarterritory to that of the modern nation ofChina, ruled under variousdynasties up through the early 20th century.
6. (historical) TheRepublic of China prior to 1949, and sometimes after that time, particularly up through the early 1970's or so (when thePeople's Republic of China assumed theUnited Nations seat allocated to china).
7. (rare)A femalegiven name.
   • 2001,Susan Wittig Albert, chapter 1, inBloodroot, Berkley Publishing Group,→ISBN, page3:

     My name isChina 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, page159:

     '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?'

8. Anunincorporatedcommunity inJefferson County,Indiana,United States.
9. A town inKennebec County,Maine,United States.
10. Anunincorporatedcommunity inHowell County,Missouri,United States.
11. Ahamlet inDelaware County,New York,United States.
12. A small city inJefferson County,Texas,United States.
13. Amunicipality and town inNuevo León,Mexico.

• (nation):Cathay(northern medieval China, archaic);Manji,Mangi(southern medieval China, archaic);Han(culture);Greater China(inclusive of Taiwan, non-Han autonomous regions, and the SARs but not always all Chinese claims);Chinkland(pejorative);Sinim(some religious contexts)
• (state):Middle Kingdom(literary),Chinese Empire;Celestial Kingdom,Flowery Kingdom(archaic);Zhongguo(rare)
• (principal states at different periods):Xia,Shang,Zhou(kingdoms);Qin,Han,Jin,Sui,Tang,Song,Yuan,Ming,Qing,Chinese Empire,Empire of China(empires);Warring States,Three Kingdoms(regions);Republic of China orChinese Republic,People's Republic of China orChinese People's Republic

• Sino-

China (countable anduncountable,pluralChinas)

1. Alternativeletter-case form ofchina:porcelaintableware.
2. (obsolete) AChineseperson.
3. (obsolete)Alternative form ofcheyney:woollenstuff;itemsmade orfilled withcheyney.
4. Clipping ofChina rose:variousflowers.
5. (botany,beverages)Clipping ofChina tea.
6. (rhyming slang)Alternative form ofchina: amate, afriend.

• Appendix:Countries of the world
• "Names of China" and "China in world languages" atWikipedia

FromJapanese知名(ちな)(China).

• IPA^(key):/tʃi.nɑː/

China

1. A town inKagoshima prefecture,Japan.
   • 2022 December 24, “School on Japan island lends electric scooters to students for eco-friendly, cheap commute”, inThe Mainich‎^[7]:

     According to the town ofChina, if all students commuting by motorcycles switched to electric ones, carbon emissions could be reduced to under one-fourth of the current amount.

   • 2024 August 21, “Linguists rush to preserve rare dialect on remote Kagoshima isle”, inThe Asahi Shinbun‎^[8]:

     The two towns on the island,China (pronounced chee-nah) and Wadomari, along with neighboring Tokunoshima island, each have different dialects.

• “China,n.¹ and adj.”, inOED Online ⁠, Oxford:Oxford University Press,2019.

• hican,Chi-an,chain,Chain,Chian,Anich,Achin

• Sjina

FromDutchChina.

• IPA^(key):[ˈʃi.na]

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China

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• IPA^(key):/ˈt͡ʃina/[ˈt͡ʃi.na]
• Rhymes:-ina
• Syllabification:Chi‧na

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• chinu

China

1. China (a country inAsia)

• (obsolete)Sina

(Thisetymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at theEtymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key):/ˈʃinaː/

• Audio:

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• Hyphenation:Chi‧na
• Rhymes:-inaː

China n

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• chinés

FromPersianچینی(čini,“Chinese; porcelain”), compound ofچین(čin,“China”) and the suffixـی(-i), fromMiddle Persian𐭰𐭩𐭭(čīn,“China”), ultimately fromSanskritचीन(cīna).

• IPA^(key):/ˈçiːna/

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• IPA^(key):[ˈkiːna](Southern Germany,Austria,Switzerland)

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• IPA^(key):[ˈʃiːna](Northern Germany, western Germany)

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• IPA^(key):[ˈxiːna](Switzerland)

• Hyphenation:Chi‧na

China n (proper noun,genitiveChinasor(optionally with an article)China,pluralChina)

1. China (a country inEast Asia)

• The pluralChina refers to thePeople's Republic of China (German:Volksrepublik China (short:VR China),Festlandchina (Mainland China),Rotchina (Red China)) and theRepublic of China (German:Republik China (auf Taiwan),Inselchina,Taiwan).

• “China” inDigitales Wörterbuch der deutschen Sprache

Borrowed fromBrazilian Portuguese andGermanChina.^[1]

• IPA^(key):/ˈʃiːna/
• Rhymes:-iːna
• Syllabification:Chi‧na

China n

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

   Das waar imChina gemach. ―This was made inChina.

China

1. Nonstandard spelling ofCina(“a country; language”).

China

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

FromMiddle Persian[script needed](ṣīn,“Chinese; porcelain”), probably fromSanskritचीन(cīna). Attested in 1701 in Thomas Bowery's English-Malay and Malay-English bilingual dictionary.^[1]

The spelling is a carryover from theZa'aba Spelling used before 1972, to distinguish it fromCina(“Chinese people”).

• IPA^(key):/t͡ʃina/
  • (Johor-Riau)IPA^(key):[t͡ʃi.nə]
  • (Baku)IPA^(key):[t͡ʃi.na]
• Rhymes:-na,-a
• Hyphenation:Chi‧na

China (Jawi spellingچينا)

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

   Synonym:Tiongkok(Riau Malay, Indonesian)

• “China” inPusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu | Malay Literary Reference Centre, Kuala Lumpur:Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017.

• Shina(Gascony)

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• chinés

• Patric Guilhemjoan,Diccionari elementari occitan-francés francés-occitan (gascon), 2005, Orthez, per noste, 2005,→ISBN, page 146.

Perhaps fromHindiचीन(cīn) and ultimately fromSanskritचीन(cīna). CompareMalayCina.

• Hyphenation:Chi‧na

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)
   • 2007, Rubens Edwald Filho, Nilu Lebert,O cinema vai à mesa, Editora Melhoramentos,→ISBN,page31:

     Mudam os ingredientes do caldo, mudam as massas. O macarrão soba é à base de trigo sarraceno e é servido quente ou gelado; o udon, de farinha branca, pode ser encontrado fresco ou seco; o sômen é bem fininho, quase um cabelo-de-anjo japonês; o harusame, para ser servido gelado, é uma massa feita de feijão-verde e, finalmente, existe o lamen, originário daChina, porém muito difundido no Japão.

     (pleaseadd an English translation of this quotation)

• → English:China
• → Hunsrik:China

Borrowed fromGreekΚίνα(Kína), ultimately fromSanskritचीन(cīna).

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• IPA^(key):/ˈki.na/

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• chinez

• cinie

la China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• chinais
• Chinais

From-china(“fourth”), counting the days of the working week from Monday.

China class7

1. Thursday

• days of the week:mazuva evhiki (appendix):Muvhuro ·Chipiri ·Chitatu ·China ·Chishanu ·Mugovera/Chitanhatu(Zezuru) ·Svondo ^[edit]

Ultimately fromSanskritचीन(cīna), ultimately possibly fromOld Chinese秦(*zin).

• IPA^(key):/ˈt͡ʃina/[ˈt͡ʃi.na]

• Audio:

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• Rhymes:-ina
• Syllabification:Chi‧na

China f

1. China (a country in easternAsia)

• → Tagalog:Tsina

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China

1. Alternative form ofUchina