Meanings
plural Chinesemen
- A Chinese man, a Chinaman.
When speaking of the Chinese individually we should undoubtedly say a Chinese or a Chineseman.
1878, in Gentleman's Magazine and Historical Chronicle, Volume 243, p. 760 (Google Books view)5 more examples
They saw the Chineseman, her grandfather, was broken in pieces. He was an ornament too and had fallen off the table
1977, Country life, volume 162Brook asked the actors to find a way of communicating the idea of this picture to a blind Chineseman.
1995, Albert Hunt, Geoffrey Reeves, Peter Brook, page 129In the same book, Ku judges, "In fact, in order to understand the real Chineseman and the Chinese civilization, […]."
2006, Wei-Bin Zhang, Hong Kong: the pearl made of British mastery, page 176I asked the three Chinesemen as I exited Uncle Bernie's building. I could have taken a subway to Pettigrew's for the meeting, but I wanted to get there early so I could speak to the knowledgeable Mrs. Christopher.
2007, Nancy Fairbanks, Turkey FlambéAnd who, despite all that, sat next to her, deferential and friendly — not attempting to impress her with his heroic status. Modest, Jade thought, a quality that was as rare among Englishmen as Chinesemen and, in fact, might be a rarity among all men.
2008, Sarah A. Hoyt, Heart and Soul, page 344
Origin
A compound of Chinese + -man, or a compression of the words "Chinese man" into a single word, which may have been influenced by Chinaman or by similar words such as Englishman, Frenchman and Dutchman.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
Chineseman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chineseman
“Chineseman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chineseman. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Chineseman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Chineseman.
Source: Chineseman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.