tibet

plural tibets · alternative thibet

1. archaicA woolen fabric generally printed in colours; a heavy fabric used for the same purposes as furs, made of goat hair, black and finely curled.

   The chief demand in men's-wear fabrics is for combed and milled fabrics such as worsteds, kerseys, tibets, meltons, etc.

   1920, Special Agents Series, number 194, page 59

alternative obsolete Thibet · alternative obsolete Tebet · alternative obsolete Tibat · alternative obsolete Tobbat · alternative obsolete Tibbet

1. A geographic region in Central Asia (mostly in China), the homeland of the Tibetan people, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau.

   A giant rally on Formosa reflects the worldwide concern for Tibet's heroic rebels. Speaking to sixty-thousand people in Taipei, President Chiang Kai-shek says Tibet's resistance foreshadows a vast anti-communist uprising on the mainland of China.

   1959 February 4, Peter Roberts, 0:00 from the start, in Formosa Rallies In Support Of Tibet Rebels (1959), British Pathé

   1 more example

   The Province of Xenſi extends to the Kingdom of Preſter John. Caſcar and Thebet, which the Chineſes in a general Name call Sifan it is a large Province, and is divided into eight Counties, having one hundred and eighty Cities: Sigan is the Metropolis of the whole, ſeated on the River Guei, in a moſt pleaſant and delightful place, of a noble Proſpect, and good Trade.

   [1693, Robert Morden, “Of China”, in Geography Rectified; or a Description of the World, 3rd edition, page 439

   Synonyms: Tibetan Plateau, Tibet Plateau

2. historicalA former country in East Asia that existed from 1912 until its annexation by China in 1951.

   The estimated population of the Chinese Empire (exclusive of Tibet) is given, on the basis of this census, as 329,542,000, while the population of Tibet is estimated at 1,500,000.

   1922, Bertrand Russell, The Problem of China, London: George Allen & Unwin, →OCLC, →OL, page 33

   2 more examples

   Third, we should open up two new international broadcasting stations—Radio Free China and Radio Free Tibet— to provide these nations with independent information and commentary.[...]The people of Tibet represent a separate case. Conquered by the Chinese in 1950, occupied brutally by troops who killed thousands, desecrated local cultural and religious sites, and denied reasonable demands for autonomy, Tibetans have elicited much sympathy but little support from the outside world. The outrage over the brutal killings of peaceful demonstrators in Lhasa in March 1989 quickly faded after the massacres in Beijing in June. While there is a limit to what we can do, we should do more than we have done. In addition to raising the issue of Tibet in bilateral talks, we should establish Radio Free Tibet so that its people, though isolated, will no longer feel abandoned.

   1992, Richard Nixon, “The Pacific Triangle”, in Seize the Moment, Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, pages 179–180

   I also supported more political freedom in China, and had recently invited the Dalai Lama and Hong Kong human rights activist Martin Lee to the White House to highlight my support for the cultural and religious integrity of Tibet and for maintaining Hong Kong's democracy now that the UK had restored it to China.

   2005, Bill Clinton, My Life, volume II, New York: Vintage Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, page 387

   Synonyms: Hermit Kingdom

3. An autonomous region of China. Official name: Tibet Autonomous Region. Capital: Lhasa.

   Synonyms: Tibet Autonomous Region, Xizang