Meanings
plural Khitais
- historySynonym of Khitan (“person”).
At the head of the Qara Khitai administration stood the Gürkhan, the Khan of Khans or universal Khan. The Gürkhan also bore the title of Chinese emperor (or empress) and maintained the Chinese custom of assigning reign titles (nian hao).
2005, Michal Biran, The Empire of the Qara Khitai in Eurasian History: Between China and the Islamic World, page 1082 more examples
ḲARA KHITĀI (or ḲARĀ KHIṬĀI), the usual name since the viᵗʰ (xiiᵗʰ) century in Muḥammadan sources for the Kitai people, mentioned by the Chinese from the eighth century A. D. onwards, who were probably Tunguz (according to another view Mongol)... From the beginning of the tenth century the Kitai carried on a campaign of conquest, conquered the northern part of China and founded a dynasty which as a Chinese ruling house was called Liao (916).
c. 1913, The Encyclopaedia of Islam, Vol. IV, page 738When the Liao dynasty collapsed, a member of the royal house, Yelü Dashi (1087–1143), led a remnant force westward and established the Kara Khitai (Black Khitans), or Western Liao, dynasty (1132–1218, in modern Kazakhstan), whose chief opponents were the Seljuk Turks.
2012, Timothy D. Baker Jr. & al. translating Xu Zhuoyun as China: A New Cultural History, page 269Synonyms: Khitan
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of Khitan (“person”).
adjectiveSynonym of Khitan.
proper nounSynonym of Khitan (“language”).
proper nounSynonym of Khitan (“empire”).
Origin
Variant of earlier Kitai, influenced by Arabic sources and transcription.
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Khitai. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khitai
“Khitai.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khitai. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Khitai,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Khitai.
Source: Khitai on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.