Etymology

Manchuria

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Today it means: A region of northeastern China comprising the three provinces of Liaoning, Jilin, and Heilongjiang and the northeastern part of Inner Mongolia. Full definition →

Dutch Mansiourische ← Japanese 満州
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The story

  1. Japanese · derived from満州“Manchuria; Manchurian”
  2. Dutch · derived fromMansiourische
  3. English todayManchuria

Probably originally a backformation from Manchurian (“of or relating to the Manchus”), from Dutch Mansiourische, from Mansiouwer (“a Manchu”) + -isch (“-ish: forming adjectives”), possibly as a calque of Japanese 満州 (まんしゅう, Manshū, “Manchuria; Manchurian”). Equivalent to New Latin and English Manchu + -ia, with the r added for ease of pronunciation under the influence of names like Etruria, Liguria, &c. Cf. French Mandchourie, German Mandschurei, &c. Further popularized by Philipp von Siebold's early-19th-century Dutch translations of Japanese maps employing the term, replacing the earlier and vaguer Tartary, Eastern Tartary, Chinese Tartary, &c.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.