Etymology

xian

X8I1A1N1

Today it means: An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu). (Alternative form of hsien for Taiwan (ROC).) Full definition →

Mandarin 縣 /县
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xian · noun1

  1. Mandarin · borrowed from縣 /县
  2. English todayxian

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 縣 /县.

xian · noun, adjective2

An alternative capitalization of Xian.

Xian · proper noun3

  1. Chinese · derived from西安“Western Peace”
  2. English todayXian

c. late 20th c., from the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Chinese 西安 (Xī'ān, “Western Peace”), without syllable-dividing mark (隔音符號／隔音符号 (géyīn fúhào)).

Xian · proper noun4

  1. Chinese · borrowed from咸
  2. English todayXian

Borrowed from Chinese 咸 (Xián).

Xian · noun, adjective5

  1. Ancient Greek · derived fromΧ
  2. English todayXian

From X as a stand-in for Ancient Greek Χ (Kh) as an initial representing Χριστος (Khristos, “Christ, the Anointed One”), q.v. In present use, a modern coinage after the model of Xmas.

Words from the same roots

Mandarin縣 all →

hsien

Chinese西安 all →

Xi'an

Ancient GreekΧ all →

x

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.