Sibe
/ˈsiːbə/noun
A variant English name for the Xibe people, an ethnic group traditionally associated with northeastern and northwestern China.
Did you know?The Sibe are especially notable for preserving a modified Manchu writing tradition after most Manchu-speaking communities abandoned everyday use of the script.
Etymological Timeline
Before the 17th Century
Manchu
Sibe
“A traditional ethnonym for the people now commonly called Xibe; the deeper origin of the name is uncertain.”
17th Century
Manchu
ᠰᡳᠪᡝ
“Manchu-script form of Sibe, used in imperial-era records and administration.”
17th–18th Century
Chinese
锡伯 / 錫伯 (Xībó)
“Chinese transcription of the ethnonym, later standardized as the name of the Xibe ethnic group.”
18th Century
Manchu and Chinese
Sibe / Xibe
“The name became associated with communities relocated by the Qing state from the northeast to Xinjiang.”
19th–20th Century
English
Sibe
“An English variant spelling of Xibe, appearing in ethnographic and linguistic writing.”
Modern English
English
Sibe
“A less common English name for the Xibe people or their language.”
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