خىتاي

Uyghur

Etymology

From Chagatai خِطَایْ (xiṭāy), from Old Turkic 𐰶𐰃𐱃𐰪 (Qïtań), from Khitan 𘱿𘲫 (*qid ún). Cognate with English Cathay, Chinese 契丹 (Qìdān).

Noun
Other scripts
Perso-Arabic خىتاي
Latin ‍xitay‍
Cyrillic хитай

خىتاي • (xitay) (plural خىتايلار (xitaylar))

  1. A (dated, now offensive, ethnic slur) man who is Chinese.
    Synonym: كاپىر (kapir)

Proper noun
Other scripts
Perso-Arabic خىتاي
Latin ‍Xitay‍
Cyrillic Хитай

خىتاي • (Xitay)

  1. (dated, now offensive) China (a country in Asia)
    Synonym: جۇڭگو (junggo)

Usage notes

Although this term for China is shared with most Central Asian and Slavic languages, whose forms of the name probably derive their -i and -y endings from Uyghur,[1] as it refers to an era of nomadic domination over the Han, it is formally prohibited within China and functions as a kind of racial slur.

References
  1. Sinor, D. (1998) "The Kitan and the Kara Kitay" in History of Civilizations of Central Asia, Vol. IV, Pt. I, UNESCO, p. 241.
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