Meanings
- obsoleteHonshu, the largest island of Japan.
Niphon, the chief island, is nine hundred miles long, and one hundred miles in average width.
1853, “Japan”, in Putnam's Monthly, volume 1, number 3, page 2421 more example
The greateſt of theſe three, which is called Niphon, doth lye from Eaſt to Weſt, and is 700. miles in length and 180. in breadth, and it deuided into three & fifty little Kingdomes or Prouinces, and therein is the noble Citty of Meaco the chiefe and head of all Iapone.
1619, W. W. Gent, A Briefe Relation of the Persecution Lately Made Against the Catholike Crhstians, in the Kingdome of Iaponia, volume 1, page 20
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
- Japanese日本
- EnglishNiphon
From Japanese 日本 (formerly Niffon, now Nippon or Nihon) "Japan".
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
Niphon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Niphon
“Niphon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Niphon. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Niphon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Niphon.
Source: Niphon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.