China

Meaning

1. A Chinese person.
2. 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.
3. Chinaware: porcelain tableware.
4. Synonym of mainland China.
5. 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.
6. Clipping of China tea.
7. An unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Indiana, United States.
8. Alternative letter-case form of china: porcelain tableware.
9. Synonym of porcelain, a hard white translucent ceramic made from kaolin, now (chiefly US) sometimes distinguished in reference to tableware as fine or good china.
10. Synonym of cheyney: worsted or woolen stuff.
11. Alternative form of cheyney: woollen stuff; items made or filled with cheyney.
12. A large country in East Asia, occupying the region around the Yellow, Yangtze, and Pearl Rivers; the People's Republic of China, since 1949.
13. Tea from China, (particularly) varieties cured by smoking or opposed to Indian cultivars.
14. A town in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan.
15. Clipping of China rose, various flowers.
16. A female given name.
17. Synonym of mate (rhyme of china-plate).
18. Alternative form of china: a mate, a friend.
19. Cheaper and lower-quality ceramic and ceramic tableware, distinguished from porcelain.
20. 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).
21. China in One China, asserting that there is only one de jure Chinese nation
22. Synonym of China rose, in its various senses.
23. Synonym of China root, the root of Smilax china (particularly) as a medicine.

Etymology / origin

From Portuguese China, from possibly Venetan Cina probably under influence from Old French Chin, from Classical Persian چین (čīn) under influence from Medieval Latin Sīna (“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.

Sources

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