خىتاي

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Uyghur

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Etymology

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From Chagatai خِطَایْ (xiṭāy), from Old Turkic 𐰶𐰃𐱃𐰪 (Qïtań), from Khitan 𘱿𘲫 (*qid ún). Cognate with English Cathay, Chinese 契丹 (Qìdān).

Noun

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Other scripts
Perso-Arabic خىتاي
Latin xitay
Cyrillic хитай

خىتاي (xitay) (plural خىتايلار (xitaylar))

  1. (dated, now offensive, ethnic slur) A man who is Chinese.
    Synonym: كاپىر (kapir)

Proper noun

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Other scripts
Perso-Arabic خىتاي
Latin Xitay
Cyrillic Хитай

خىتاي (Xitay)

  1. (dated, now offensive) China (a country in Asia)
    Synonym: جۇڭگو (junggo)

Usage notes

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Although this term for China is shared with most Central Asian and Slavic languages, whose forms of the name probably derive their -i and -y endings from Uyghur,[1] as it refers to an era of nomadic domination over the Han, it is formally prohibited within China and functions as a kind of racial slur. While the Mongolian word ᠬᠢᠲᠠᠳ (kitad) is not prohibited.

References

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  1. ^ Sinor, D. (1998) "The Kitan and the Kara Kitay" in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, Pt. I, UNESCO, p. 241.