Qidan
/tɕi˥˩.tán/noun
Qidan is the Mandarin pinyin form of the name of the Khitan people, a historical East Asian ethnic group and ruling dynasty.
Did you know?The Khitan-led Liao dynasty helped transmit the ethnonym Qidan westward, where forms such as Kitai and Cathay became names associated with China.
Etymological Timeline
5th Century
Chinese
契丹
“The ethnonym recorded for the Khitan people of northeastern Asia.”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
*Khiej-tan
“A scholarly reconstruction of the pronunciation of 契丹; the internal meaning of the two syllables remains uncertain.”
10th–12th Centuries
Chinese
契丹
“The name used for the Khitan people and their Liao dynasty, which ruled large parts of northern China and Inner Asia.”
Medieval Period
Mongolic and Turkic
Qitan/Kitai
“Forms of the ethnonym circulated across Inner Asia and were used in connection with the Khitan realm.”
13th–16th Centuries
European languages
Cathay
“A European form derived through Asian intermediaries, used for China or northern China.”
Modern English
English
Khitan/Qidan
“Khitan is the usual English historical form, while Qidan is the Mandarin pinyin form of the same name.”