Khitan
/kɪˈtɑːn/noun
A member of a nomadic people who founded the Liao dynasty in northern China, or relating to that people and their language.
Did you know?The ethnonym Khitan became so widely known in medieval Eurasia that it left a lasting imprint in several languages, including forms that later fed the English word for China.
Etymological Timeline
Early Medieval period
Khitan
Khitan
“The name of the people themselves, used for the nomadic group that rose in northeast Asia.”
10th Century
Chinese
Qìdān (契丹)
“Chinese transcription of the Khitan people; the form used in historical Chinese records.”
11th–13th Century
Persian/Arabic
Khitāy / Khitā
“A term for the Khitan and, by extension, lands associated with northern China.”
13th Century
Old French/Medieval Latin
Cathay
“A western name for northern China, ultimately borrowed through Central Asian and Eurasian transmission.”
Modern English
English
Khitan
“The historical people and their language, preserved in scholarly and historical usage.”