xian
English
Alternative forms
- (archaic): hsien
Noun
xian (plural xians)
- (China) An administrative subdivision of imperial, republican, and communist China roughly equivalent to counties, now distinguished from the more urban "districts" (qu).
Synonyms
Etymology 2
An alternative capitalization of Xian.
Adjective
xian (not comparable)
- (sometimes derogatory or offensive) Alternative form of Xian: Christian.
- 1993, Emerson, Mary Moody, Simmons, Nancy Craig, editor, 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].
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References
Mandarin
Romanization
xian
Usage notes
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
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