Kitai
/kɪˈtaɪ/noun
A historical name for China, derived from the name of the Khitan people and used especially in medieval Eurasian sources.
Did you know?The name Kitai traveled across Central Asia into Russian Kitay and influenced the English name Cathay, showing how one dynasty’s ethnonym became a foreign name for China.
Etymological Timeline
10th–12th Century
Middle Chinese
契丹 (Qìdān)
“The name of the Khitan people, a nomadic and semi-nomadic group that founded the Liao dynasty.”
11th–13th Century
Mongolic/Turkic
Khitai / Qitay
“Forms used across Inner Asia for the Khitan realm and, increasingly, China.”
13th Century
Persian
Khitāy
“A geographical name for China in Persian and Islamic geographic writing.”
13th–15th Century
Russian
Китай (Kitay)
“China; the term entered Russian through medieval steppe and Central Asian contacts.”
Medieval English
English
Kitai / Catai
“A historical name for China, appearing in variant forms in accounts of Asia.”
Modern English
English
Kitai
“A rare historical or transliterated name for China, more commonly encountered in forms such as Cathay or Khitan.”