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Bei·jing

(bājĭng) also Pe·king (pēkĭng, pā-)

The capital of China, in the northeast part of the country. It served as Kublai Khan's capital (13th century) and the capital of the Ming and Qing dynasties (1421-1911). From 1928 to 1949 it was known as Peiping. It is a major commercial and industrial center and the political, educational, and cultural center of the country.

Usage Note: Although some people pronounce the capital of China as (bāzhĭng), with a (zh) sound in place of the (j) sound, the pronunciation with the (j) sound is a much better approximation of the Chinese pronunciation. In fact, most people who speak Chinese would consider the (zh) pronunciation to be incorrect.

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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