Etymological Progression
Below is the etymological progression from Khitan to Cathay as the word travelled westward:
- Mongolian/Classical Mongolian: Khyatad (Хятад) / Kitad
- Uyghur (Western China): خىتاي, Xitay
- Kazakh: قىتاي, Қытай, Qıtay
- Kazan Tatar (Central Russia): Qıtay
- Russian: Kitay (Китай)
- Ukrainian: Kytay (Китай)
- Bulgarian: Kitay (Китай)
- Polish: Kitaj
- Slovenian: Kitajska
- Medieval Latin: Cataya, Kitai
- Italian: Catai
- Spanish: Catay
- Portuguese: Cataio
- French, English, German, Dutch, Scandinavian: Cathay
In many Turkic and Slavic languages a form of "Cathay" (e.g., Russian: Китай, Kitay) remains the usual modern name for China.
Read more about this topic: Cathay
Famous quotes containing the word progression:
“Measured by any standard known to science—by horse-power, calories, volts, mass in any shape,—the tension and vibration and volume and so-called progression of society were full a thousand times greater in 1900 than in 1800;Mthe force had doubled ten times over, and the speed, when measured by electrical standards as in telegraphy, approached infinity, and had annihilated both space and time. No law of material movement applied to it.”
—Henry Brooks Adams (1838–1918)