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Glite Dictionary
🏯 Of old China 👤 Person from Cathay 🈶 Old Chinese language
Cathayan

Cathayan

9.9
An old name for the Chinese language used in past texts
  • noun
  • Archaic
translation icon : catalán
  • The manuscript was written in a form of Cathayan that is no longer in use.

Examples

  • Many ancient texts were written in Cathayan.

  • In old travelogues, the word Cathayan was often used to refer to the Chinese language.

  • Few people today are familiar with the term Cathayan when discussing languages of East Asia.

  • The Cathayan script is fascinating to study.

  • In old travelogues, the word Cathayan was often used to refer to the Chinese language.

  • Few people today are familiar with the term Cathayan when discussing languages of East Asia.

  • The manuscript was written in a form of Cathayan that is no longer in use.

Surface Forms

Cathayan singular
Cathayans plural

Morphology

Cathayan = Cathay (transparent) = Cathay + an

The adjectival/demonymic suffix '-an' applied to 'Cathay' yields a word denoting the language or an associated form, which is predictable from the base.

Etymology

Cathayan was also used in old travel books to name the Chinese language, and the word comes from Cathay and the name Khitan. So calling a language 'Cathayan' means 'the language of Cathay', an old way to say Chinese.