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Chi·nese

(chī-nēz, -nēs)

adj.

Of or relating to China or its peoples, languages, or cultures.

n. pl. Chinese

a. A native or inhabitant of China.

b. A person of Chinese ancestry.

c. See Han¹.

a. The sole member of the Sinitic branch of the Sino-Tibetan language family, consisting of numerous languages and dialects such as Mandarin, Cantonese, Taiwanese, and Fujian.

b. Any of the Sinitic varieties of speech spoken by the Chinese people.

c. The official national language of China; Mandarin.

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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