Meanings
Ili1
- An automonous prefecture in Northern Xinjiang autonomous region, China.
The Ch’ing emperor was delighted with the final destruction of the Dzungars. He erected two sizeable monuments in Ili, with inscriptions in Chinese, Manchu, Oirat, and Tibetan, to commemorate his victory.
1975, Morris Rossabi, China and Inner Asia: From 1368 to the Present Day, New York: Pica Press, page 1485 more examples
Practically speaking, Yakoob Beg was safe from invasion from the east so long as he maintained order within his own frontier and the Tungani in Ili on his north had manifested no special hostility against his state.
1878, Demetrius Charles Boulger, The Life of Yakoob Beg; Athalik Ghazi and Badaulet; Ameer of Kashgar, London: Wm. H. Allen & Co., page 126Once the Russians had moved into Ili, it was not so easy for the Chinese to oust them from the region. A preliminary Sino-Russian treaty in 1879 gave Russia valuable parts of the region, an indemnity for occupation costs, and commercial privileges, but this treaty was denounced by the Peking Government. Finally, in 1881, a treaty settling the problem was signed, and the Ili region was retained by the Chinese and evacuated by the Russians.
1963, A. Doak Barnett, China on the Eve of Communist Takeover, Frederick A. Praeger, page 244According to later reports, one of the main problems was that the Ili and Tacheng districts, which were entitled to fourteen and six representatives respectively, had sent eighteen and eight instead. Furthermore, five of those sent by Tacheng were not on the original list of those elected. The IIi District also sent an extra two representatives, on behalf of the Sibo, Solon, and Manchu populations of IIi, which was quite outside the original regulations.
1990, Linda Benson, The Ili Rebellion: The Moslem Challenge to Chinese Authority in Xinjiang, 1944-1949, M. E. Sharpe, page 121The mandate on turning in passports was issued in Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture, a large and rugged area of northern Xinjiang that has a diverse ethnic mix among its three million people, including Kazakhs, Uighurs and Mongolians.
2015 May 14, Edward Wong, “Chinese Police Order Residents in a Xinjiang Prefecture to Turn In Passports”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 17 May 2015, Asia PacificVidal grape grown in Ili, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, is one of few grapes used to ferment ice wine in China. Microbial community structure and volatile composition during the spontaneous fermentation of ice wine made from Vidal grapes in Ili were investigated using amplicon sequencing technology and headspace solid-phase microextraction/gas chromatography-mass spectrometer technologies.
2020, Chen, Y. et al., “Microbial community composition and its role in volatile compound formation during the spontaneous fermentation of ice wine made from Vidal grapes”, in Process Biochemistry, volume 92, page 365 - A river situated in Xinjiang of north-western China and south-eastern Kazakhstan.
1 more example
The Ili, rising inside Sinkiang, drains into Lake Balkhash in Soviet Kazakhstan, nearly a thousand miles to the west. Not far inside the USSR, to the south of the Ili on the Turkestan-Siberian Railway, sits Alma-Ata, the capital of the Kazakh SSR. Founded by the Russians a century ago, it contains over 456,000 inhabitants, mainly Russian. From its position, the city is able to command the western approach to the upper Ili. The largest city on the Chinese Ili is Kuldja, a fortress town, with a population well over 110,000.
1962, W. A. Douglas Jackson, The Russo-Chinese Borderlands: Zone of Peaceful Contact or Potential Conflict?, D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., page 9
ILI2
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounAn automonous prefecture in Northern Xinjiang autonomous region, China.
Origin
- Uyghurئىلى
- RussianИли
- EnglishIli
From Russian Или (Ili) and Uyghur ئىلى (ili), usually taken to derive from Mongolian.
More words from Russian, Uyghur
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Cantonese 伊犁, 伊犁河
- 伊犁 (ji¹ lai⁴)autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang, China
- 伊犁河 (ji¹ lai⁴ ho⁴)river in China and Kazakhstan
Chinese Mandarin 伊犁, 伊犁河
- 伊犁 (Yīlí)autonomous prefecture of Xinjiang, China
- 伊犁河 (Yīlí Hé)river in China and Kazakhstan
Russian Или́
- Или́ (Ilí)river in China and Kazakhstan
Ukrainian Ілі́
- Ілі́ (Ilí)river in China and Kazakhstan
Cite this entry
Ili. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ili
“Ili.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ili. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ili,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ili.
Source: Ili on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.