| Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary 1,764,691,374 visitors served. |
|
Dictionary/ thesaurus | Medical dictionary | Legal dictionary | Financial dictionary | Acronyms | Idioms | Encyclopedia | Wikipedia encyclopedia | ? |
Cathay |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
|
Cathay (kăthā`), name for North China used by medieval Europeans, derived from the Khitan (or Khitai), a Manchurian people who conquered S Manchuria and N China and founded the Liao dynasty (937–1125). S China was referred to as Mangi. Long after the end of the Liao, the Russians and some central Asian people continued to and still use Kitai as the name of China. The description of Cathay by Marco Polo (c.1254–c.1324) in his journal helped popularize the name in medieval Europe. CathayFormer name for China, especially northern China. The word is derived from Khitay, the name of a seminomadic people who dominated northern China in the 10th–12th century. By the time of Genghis Khan, the Mongols had begun referring to northern China as Kitai (still the Russian word for China). The name may have been introduced to Europe by returning Franciscan friars c. 1254, but it was Marco Polo's Travels 50 years later that put Cathay's image before the European public. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
|
| ? Mentioned in | ? References in periodicals archive | |
|---|---|---|
ATV hired Ekrem Catay (former director of Star TV's programming and former head of TRT's drama department) away from troubled Kanal 6. |
| Encyclopedia |
| Free Tools: |
For surfers:
Free toolbar & extensions |
Word of the Day |
Help
For webmasters: Free content | Linking | Lookup box | Double-click lookup | Partner with us |
|---|