龜茲
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See also: 龟兹
Chinese[edit]
phonetic | |||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (龜茲) | 龜 | 茲 | |
simp. (龟兹) | 龟 | 兹 |
Etymology[edit]
First attested in the Book of Han, written in the 2nd century. Apparently corresponds to the endonym of the historical Kucha in Tocharian B *Kuśi, attested in the genitive Kuśiñ and adjective kuśiññe (“pertaining to *Kuśi”), or its more archaic variant (see Adams, 2013, which reconstructs the Proto-Tocharian *kući(ye) proto-form for the adjective). Cf. Niya Prakrit 𐨐𐨂𐨕𐨁𐨪𐨗𐨎𐨨𐨁 (kucirajaṃmi, “kingdom of Kuci”). Adams (ibid.) suggests further etymology from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewk- (“shining, white”).
Pronunciation[edit]
Proper noun[edit]
龜茲
- Kucha or Kuchar (an ancient Central Asian city-state that flourished in the first millennium AD, located in modern day Aksu, Xinjiang)