Jiuquan
/tɕjoʊ̯˥˥ tɕʰyɛn˥˥/noun
A city and former commandery in Gansu Province, China, whose name literally refers to a spring of wine.
Did you know?According to tradition, the name arose after Han soldiers discovered a spring whose water tasted like wine, though the story is legendary rather than evidence of actual wine flowing underground.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Sinitic
Old Chinese
酒
“Alcoholic drink; wine or fermented liquor”
Proto-Sinitic
Old Chinese
泉
“A spring or source of flowing water”
2nd Century BCE
Chinese
酒泉
“The ‘Wine Spring’; a name associated with a spring said to taste like wine”
111 BCE
Han Chinese
酒泉郡
“Jiuquan Commandery, established by the Han dynasty in the region”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
酒泉
“The established place-name ‘Wine Spring’”
Modern English
English
Jiuquan
“The romanized name of the Chinese city in Gansu Province”