Meanings
Chimay1
Chimay2
alternative Chiamay · alternative Chiammay · alternative Chiamai · alternative Chiang Mai · alternative Chaamay · alternative Chiama · alternative Cunebete · alternative Singapamor · alternative Jamahey
- historicalgeographyAn imaginary lake thought for centuries to exist in southern China or northern Indochina, once believed to be the source of the Brahmaputra or Meghna, the Irrawaddy, the Salween, and the Chao Phraya Rivers.
CHIMAY, the name of a great lake, lying in the province of Acham, between the Eaſt-Indies and China.
1771, Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1st ed., Vol. II, p. 184
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Chimay · proper noun
- Proto-Celtic*koimos“pretty, pleasant”
- FrenchChimay
- EnglishChimay
From French Chimay, sometimes further derived via Vulgar Latin, from Proto-Celtic *koimos (“pretty, pleasant”).
More words from French, Proto-Celtic
Full word history & related roots →Chimay · proper noun
- Thaiเชียงใหม่
- PortugueseLago
- EnglishChimay
Variant of earlier Chiamay, from Portuguese Lago de Chiamay in João de Barros's 1553 Décadas da Ásia, Dec. III, Bk. II, presumably from the Chiamay and Chiammay in manuscripts of Fernão Mendes Pinto's Peregrinação, variously referring to an imaginary lake and to the kingdom and town of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, Thai เชียงใหม่ (Chiiang Mai), from เชียง (chiiang, “walled city”) + ใหม่ (mài, “new”).
More words from Portuguese, Thai
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Hindi शिमे
- शिमे (śime)Translations
Korean 시메
- 시메 (sime)Translations
Cite this entry
Chimay. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chimay
“Chimay.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chimay. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chimay,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chimay.
Source: Chimay on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.