Cathay Definition

kă-thā
pronoun

The name that was given to northern China by Marco Polo.

Wiktionary
By extension, an alternate name for China.
Wiktionary

Origin of Cathay

  • Medieval Latin Cataya, Cathaya ultimately (via Turkic languages) from Khitan Khitai the Khitan people (who ruled in northern China and Central Asia in an era of increasing interaction between China, the Muslim world, and Europe)

    From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition

  • From Portuguese "Catai", from Khitan (契丹, Qìdān), the Chinese name of a Mongolian tribe who ruled Manchuria from 907-1115 CE. Cognate with Spanish Catay and Russian Китай.

    From Wiktionary

Cathay Sentence Examples

  • He died on the journey in March 1607; and thus, as one of the brethren pronounced his epitaph, " seeking Cathay he found heaven."

  • Maps of the 16th and 17th centuries often show Cambaluc in an imaginary region to the north of China, a part of the misconception that has prevailed regarding Cathay.

  • At his suggestion a voyage was undertaken for the discovery of a north-east passage to Cathay, with Sir Hugh Willoughby as captain-general of the fleet and Richard Chancellor as pilotmajor.

  • One important object of English maritime adventurers of those days was to discover a route to Cathay by the north-west, a second was to settle Virginia, and a third was to raid the Spanish settlements in the West Indies.

  • The conception of the north-western route to Cathay now leads the story of exploration, for the first time as far as important and sustained efforts are concerned, towards the Arctic seas.

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Words Starting With

CCACAT

Words Ending With

YAYHAY

Unscrambles

Cathay

Words Starting With C and Ending With Y

Starts With C & Ends With YStarts With CA & Ends With YStarts With C & Ends With AY

Word Length

6 Letter Words6 Letter Words Starting With C6 Letter Words Ending With Y