xian

See also: xī'àn, Xian, xián, xiàn, xiān, xiǎn, Xi'an, Xī'ān, and xī'ān

English

Etymology 1

From the pinyin romanization of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Chinese 縣／县 (xiàn)

Alternative forms

• (archaic): hsien

Noun

xian (plural xians)

1. (China) An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu).

Synonyms

• county

Etymology 2

An alternative capitalization of Xian.

Noun

xian (plural xians)

1. (sometimes derogatory or offensive) Alternative form of Xian: Christian.

Adjective

xian (not comparable)

1. (sometimes derogatory or offensive) Alternative form of Xian: Christian.
   • 1993, Mary Moody Emerson, edited by Simmons, Nancy Craig, The Selected Letters of Mary Moody Emerson, Athens: University of Georgia Press, page 242:

     But what an epoch in the xian world—what a time for a xian Orator to make a deep & eternal impression on socity^[sic].

References

• What does 'xian' mean?

Anagrams

• Axin, Naxi, axin

---

Mandarin

Romanization

xian

1. Nonstandard spelling of xiān.
2. Nonstandard spelling of xián.
3. Nonstandard spelling of xiǎn.
4. Nonstandard spelling of xiàn.

Usage notes

• Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.