English Explanatory Dictionary

Khitan

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A member of the Mongolic people who ruled Manchuria, then northern China as the Liao, then Central Asia as the Qara Khitais, from the 9th to 13th century C.E.
adj
  1. Of or pertaining to the Khitan people, language or scripts.
name
  1. The Khitan Empire; the state or land of the Khitan people.
  2. The extinct Para-Mongolic language spoken by the Khitan people.

Word forms

Khitan Khitans Kitai Khitai Kitan K'itan

Etymology

Reconstruction of Khitan 𘱿𘲫 (*qid ún, small script) or 𘱿𘱤 (*qid i, small script) under influence from Middle Chinese 契丹 (MC khejH|khj+t|khet tan). Doublet of Cathay. Compare Russian Кита́й (Kitáj, “China”) and the various forms of Cathay (“legendary northern medieval China”) in European languages.

Synonyms

Khitanian Khitanic Liao

Derived words

Black Khitan Khitanian Khitanic Khitan large script Khitan small script
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