Chinan.1adj.
/ˈtʃʌɪnə/, U.S. /ˈtʃaɪnə/ I. Senses relating to the country and its people.
1. † b. A Chinese person. Obsolete.
a. The country so called, in Asia.
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1555 R. Eden Disc. Vyage rounde Worlde in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 230v The great China, whose kyng is thought..the greatest prince in the worlde.
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the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > the Chinese > [noun] > native or inhabitant of China
Cathayan?1520
Chinean1577
Son of Heaven1579
Chino1588
chinois1594
Chinese1606
Chinesianc1615
Chinaman1621
China1638
Chinist1654
Chinensian1655
pigtail1823
celestial1842
Johnny1844
coolie1849
John1853
Chinky1871
chow1872
Chink1880
monk1903
Pong1910
power point1986
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 338 The Chynaes are curious in novelties.
1651 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 6) iii. iv. i. ii. 644 How those witty China's [1621 Chinese]..should be so gulled.
II. Senses relating to china porcelain. China porcelain, China-ware, china. [Throughout India, and the East generally, the Persian name is widely diffused as chīnī, in the sense of ‘porcelain’, ‘china-ware’. From India this form and use of the word was probably introduced in the 17th cent. into England, whence the spellings 17th cent. chiney, cheny, cheney, chenea, modern dialect chainy, chaney, chany, chaynee, chayney, cheenie, cheeny, and the fashionable pronunciation of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, /ˈtʃeɪnɪ/ (see Walker), which with /ˈtʃiːnɪ/, still survives in the dialects.]
/ˈtʃeɪnɪ/ (see Walker), which with /ˈtʃiːnɪ/, still survives in the dialects.] 2.
a. A species of earthenware of a fine semi-transparent texture, originally manufactured in China, and first brought to Europe in the 16th cent. by the Portuguese, who named it porcelain. Early in 18th cent. it began to be manufactured in Europe. China-ware (which naturally occurs earlier than china) had at first the literal sense of ‘ware from China’. This was soon shortened to china, and as the shortened form became gradually the common name of the material, ‘china-ware’ came to be regarded as ‘ware made of china or porcelain’, the sense it now bears.
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1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 41 They sell Callicoes, Cheney Sattin, Cheney ware.
1699 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) IV. 553 The price of china ware in London is fallen 12s. in the pound.
1727 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Postscr. in J. Swift et al. Misc. II. 212 John came with his Constable's Staff to..break the Esquires China-Ware.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 125 His collection of China-ware [is] valuable and tasteful.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 603 A fusible earthy mixture, along with an infusible, which, when combined, are susceptible of becoming semi-vitrified and translucent in the kiln..constitute true porcelain or china-ware.
b. china.
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1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures lii. 206 A Present of certain very rich Pieces of China.
1679 W. Penn Addr. Protestants i. 17 Massy Plate, Rich Cheny.
1685 J. Crowne Sir Courtly Nice i. 8 Women like Cheney shou'd be kept with care, One flaw debase's her to common Ware.
1694 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) III. 281 Three trunks..in which were chenea and other fine things.
1735 A. Pope Of Char. of Women 15 Mistress of yourself, tho' China fall.
1752 S. Johnson Rambler No. 200 Calling for his Dresden China.
1823 C. Lamb Old China in Elia 2nd Ser. I have an almost feminine partiality for old china.
1884 M. E. Braddon Ishmael xxx A tea-table with Queen Anne urn and old English china.
1896 G. F. Northall Warwickshire Word-bk. 45 Chāney sb. and adj., china. Oxf., Shrop., SE Worc., and elsewhere.
1897 W. B. Yeats Secret Rose 171 One party was quietly playing ‘chanies’, as they called house-keeping with pieces of broken pottery.
1936 ‘F. O'Connor’ Bones of Contention 178 Sacred Heart, he'd make chanies of the crockery on me!
c. dialect chainy, chaney, chany, chaynee, chayney, cheenie, cheeny. Also plural, pieces of broken china; see also quot. 1897 at sense 2b.
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1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words 74 Cheeny, China. Both ware and country.
1831 S. Lover Legends & Stories Ireland 167 A bull in a chaynee shop.
1860 ‘G. Eliot’ Mill on Floss II. iii. ii. 19 There's none of 'em got better chany.
1863 B. Brierley Chrons. Waverlow 88 Tum had the old-fashioned ‘chaney’..spread upon the table.
1868 F. P. Verney Stone Edge xx. 234 His yead were cracked all one as a chayney jug.
1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down 18 Chainy, china.
III. Senses relating to other products associated with China, and related uses.
3. = cheyney n.
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1790 A. Wilson Poems 55 And then the last boon I'll implore, Is to bless us with China so tight.
4. Short for China-rose n. (a) at Compounds 1b and for China tea n. at Compounds 1b.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > rose and allied flowers > rose > types of rose flower or bush
summer rosea1456
French rose1538
damask rose?a1547
musk rose1559
province1562
winter rose1577
Austrian brier1590
rose of Provence1597
velvet rose1597
damasine-rose1607
Provence rose1614
blush-rose1629
maiden's blush1648
monthly rose tree1664
Provinsa1678
York and Lancaster rose1688
cinnamon rose1699
muscat rose1707
cabbage rose1727
China-rose1731
old-fashioned rose1773
moss rose1777
swamp rose1785
alba1797
Cherokee rose1804
Macartney rose1811
shepherd's rose1818
multiflora1820
prairie rose1822
Boursault1826
Banksian rose1827
maiden rose1827
moss1829
Noisette1829
seven sisters rose1830
Dundee rambler1834
Banksia rose1835
Chickasaw rose1835
Bourbon1836
climbing rose1836
green rose1837
hybrid China1837
Jaune Desprez1837
Lamarque1837
perpetual1837
pillar rose1837
rambler1837
wax rose1837
rugosa1840
China1844
Manetti1846
Banksian1847
remontant1847
gallica1848
hybrid perpetual1848
Persian Yellow1848
pole rose1848
monthly1849
tea rose1850
quarter sessions rose1851
Gloire de Dijon1854
Jacqueminot1857
Maréchal Niel1864
primrose1864
jack1867
La France1868
tea1869
Ramanas rose1876
Japanese rose1883
polyantha1883
old rose1885
American Beauty1887
hybrid tea1890
Japan rose1895
roselet1896
floribunda1898
Zéphirine Drouhin1901
Penzance briar1902
Dorothy Perkins1903
sweetheart1905
wichuraiana1907
mermaid1918
species rose1930
sweetheart rose1936
peace1944
shrub rose1948
1844 J. W. Loudon Ladies' Compan. Flower Garden (ed. 3) 344 Rosa indica (the common China); Rosa semperflorens (the monthly China).
1898 E. von Arnim Elizabeth & her German Garden 17 I have misgivings as to the effect of the Persian Yellows among the Chinas, for the Chinas are such wee little baby things.
1907 Yesterday's Shopping (1969) 1/1 Tea... Finest China, Plain (Moning).
1938 S. Beckett Murphy v. 83 I ask for China and you give me Indian.
1964 J. Turner Slate Landscape xvi. 158 I'll tell you all about it over tea. You like China, I suppose?
5. Short for china plate, rhyming slang for ‘mate’.
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1880 D. W. Barrett Life & Work among Navvies ii. 41 ‘Now, then, my china-plate...’ This is essentially a brick~layer's phrase. If for ‘china-plate’ you substitute ‘mate’,..the puzzle is revealed.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 53 China, or Old China: chum.
1945 Penguin New Writing 25 170 ‘Remember that China of his?’ ‘What, the bloke with the hair?’
1953 K. Tennant Joyful Condemned xxxi. 304 My china's got something she wants to tell you.
1965 New Statesman 14 May 760/2 I have my hands full with his china who is a big geezer of about 14 stone.
Compounds
(In sense I.) C1.
a. Simple attributive. Now generally superseded by Chinese adj., exc. where this would be ambiguous, as in China trade, China trader, China merchant, etc. See also 2a.
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1589 R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 551 China ships with one saile.
1660 S. Pepys Diary 25 Sept. (1970) I. 253 I..did send for a Cupp of Tee (a China drink).
1668 Bp. J. Wilkins Ess. Real Char. Table 441 Concerning the China Character.
1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch 344 The old China Books.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 240 We found the China Traders.
1868 C. Collingwood (title) Rambles of a Naturalist on the shores and waters of the China sea.
b. In names of natural products, etc.
China-aster n. (see aster n. 3).
China-berry n. U.S. in full Chinaberry tree, (a) the wild China or soap-berry ( Sapindus saponaria) of the southern U.S.; (b) = China-tree n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > [noun] > azedarac
white cedar1654
bead-tree1668
azedarac1753
Melia1753
pride of China1778
pride of India1803
margosa1813
neema1819
China-tree1819
sandal-tree1864
holy tree1866
China-berry1890
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plants yielding soap > [noun] > fruit or nut yielding soap > soapberry > soapberry tree
soapberry1716
soapberry tree1725
China-berry1890
1890 Harper's Mag. Dec. 106/2 The high gray towers..were crowned with ornaments like the berries of the china~berry trees.
1908 R. W. Chambers Firing Line xxix A subtler scent..came to him on the sea-wind;..—the lilac perfume of china-berry in bloom.
1932 E. Caldwell Tobacco Road i. 8 Ellie May stood behind a chinaberry tree.
1944 R. M. Harper Prelim. Rep. Weeds Alabama 141 M. Azedarach L. Chinaberry. A medium-sized tree, very commonly cultivated for shade in the South.
China-crape n. a kind of silk crape.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > thin or light weight
sendala1225
silk chiffon1530
silk gauze1530
silk jersey1530
patola1605
China silk1614
China-crape1813
senshaw1817
tullec1818
zephyrine1820
mousseline de soie1850
lisse1852
illusion1857
sendaline1866
crêpe de chine1872
louisine1882
chameleon tulle1896
météor1908
1813 J. Austen Let. 29 Jan. (1995) 202 I hope you will wear your China Crape.
1871 C. M. Yonge Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe i. 4 A scarlet China crape shawl.
1871 C. M. Yonge Little Lucy's Wonderful Globe viii. 40 A sort of blue China-crape tunic.
China-goose n. a variety of goose found in China in immense flocks during the winter, esp. near Canton.
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the world > animals > birds > freshwater birds > order Anseriformes (geese, etc.) > [noun] > member of subfamily Anserinea (goose) > genus Anser > anser cygnoides (swan-goose)
China-goose1602
swan-goose1678
Guinea goose1879
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall i. f. 24v Cornwall hath Doues, Geese,..China geese.
China-grass n. Bœhmeria (Urtica) nivea, a small shrubby plant with broadly cordate leaves, native to China and Sumatra; also the strong fibre obtained from the inner bark of this shrub, used in the making of grass-cloth.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > other textiles obtained from plants > [noun]
flax1553
vegetable silka1660
pulu1833
ramie1851
moc-main1857
China-grass1858
tree-wool1870
istle1883
arghan1922
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > non-British shrubs > [noun] > Asian
Japan allspice1789
ramie1817
kaffir lime1824
luculia1826
rice-paper plant1832
pith plant1834
chimonanthus1836
jiti1836
rhea1837
leycesteria1838
wintersweet1846
crape-myrtle1850
skimmia1853
China-grass1858
taccada1866
saxaul1874
white kerria1900
sarcococca1914
1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 673 The excellent fibre known as China-grass.
1880 R. D. Blackmore Erema xix I had not one atom of Russian twist or dyed china-grass cloth in my hair.
1884 Weekly Scotsman 9 Feb. 1/7 The rhea, China grass, or ramie plant, as it is variously called, is said to possess the strongest fibre in nature.
China hog n. a breed of swine; also elliptical.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > order Artiodactyla (cloven-hoofed animals) > pig > [noun] > specific breeds
purr?1577
Hampshirea1661
Shropshire1768
tun-back1776
Berkshire1810
Suffolk1831
China hog1838
Essex pig1838
Narragansett1852
Cumberland1860
Neapolitan1860
Tamworth1860
hazel splitter1866
Poland China1869
Duroc1872
Large Black1906
Lincolnshire Curly-Coat1917
saddleback1919
landrace1935
micropig1985
1838 H. Colman 1st Rep. Agric. Mass. (Mass. Agric. Surv.) 74 A cross with some of our small boned breed, such as the Byfield or the China [hog].
1851 C. Cist Sketches & Statistics Cincinnati 279 The hogs raised for this market, are generally a cross of Irish Grazier Byfield..and China.
1871 E. Eggleston Hoosier School-master xxvi. 180 You can't make nothin' else out of him, no more nor you can mak a China hog into a Berkshire.
China-ink n. = Indian ink n. a black pigment sold in bars and cakes, consisting generally of lamp-black and size (see also quots.).
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > black or blackness > blackening agent > [noun] > pigment
blackOE
lamp-black1598
charcoal-black1622
ivory-black1634
blue-black1665
bone black1665
Indian ink1665
India ink1700
smoke-black1712
China-ink1782
Frankfort black1823
almond black1835
Spanish black1839
gas black1841
abaiser1849
peach black1852
vine-black1860
carbon black1872
drop-black1879
aspergillin1891
1782 Wilson in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 73 156 I pencilled the bottom of the hollows all over black with China ink.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) I. 776 It is said that the true China ink is made from the condensed smoke or soot of burned camphor.
China-orange n. the Sweet Orange of commerce ( Citrus Aurantium), originally brought from China; frequently taken as a typical object of trifling value.
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1666 S. Pepys Diary 5 Mar. (1972) VII. 67 I..made them welcome with wine and China oranges (now a great rarity).
1698 tr. A. Brand Jrnl. Embassy from Muscovy 87 Grapes, Apples..China-Oranges,..and other fruits.
1771 P. Parsons Newmarket II. 149 A hundred pounds to a China orange upon Eclipse.
1819 T. Moore Tom Crib's Memorial to Congress (ed. 3) 38 All Lombard-street to nine-pence on it. Note, More usually ‘Lombard-street to a China orange’.
1849 E. Bulwer-Lytton Caxtons I. iv. iii. 167 ‘It is Lombard Street to a China orange,’ quoth Uncle Jack. ‘Are the odds in favour of fame against failure so great?’..answered my father.
China-pea n. Caragana Chamlagu, a native of Siberia and the East.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > Asian trees or shrubs > [noun] > other Asian trees or shrubs
China-pea1660
pea tree1766
koelreuteria1789
stink-tree1795
ume1822
Java almond1824
weenonga1838
St. Thomas' tree1866
golden shower1882
Jew's mallow1884
mokihana1888
1660 Act 12 Chas. II (Tonnage & Poundage) Capravens, Cockared Caps, China Pease, Citterns.
China-pink n. Dianthus chinensis, a perennial flowering pink.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > pinks or carnations
gillyflower1517
carnation1538
clove gillyflower1538
incarnation1538
William1538
pink1566
John1572
Indian eye1573
sops-in-wine1573
sweet John1573
sweet-william1573
tuft gillyflower1573
Colmenier1578
small honesty1578
tol-me-neer1578
London tuft1597
maidenly pink1597
mountain pink1597
clove-carnation1605
musk-gillyflower1607
London pride1629
pride of London1629
maiden pink1650
Indian pink1664
Spanish pink1664
pheasant's eye pink1718
flake1727
flame1727
picotee1727
old man's head1731
painted lady1731
piquet1731
China-pink1736
clove1746
wild pink1753
lime-wort1777
matted thrift1792
clove-pink1837
Cheddar Pink1843
Dianthus1849
bunch pink1857
perpetual-flowering carnation1861
cliff pink1863
meadow pink1866
musk carnation1866
Jack1873
wax-pink1891
Malmaison1892
grenadin1904
1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. iii. 287 Exotick Seeds..as the little Blue, the China or Indian Pink.
China-rose n. (a) the Monthly Rose ( Rosa indica) and the Red Rose ( R. semperflorens) with their many varieties; (b) Hibiscus Rosa-sinensis (family Malvaceæ), a tree 20 to 30 feet high, with beautiful flowers of various colours.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > cultivated or ornamental trees and shrubs > [noun] > China-rose
China-rose1731
Martinique rose1797
shoe-flower1814
shoeblack1837
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > rose and allied flowers > rose > types of rose flower or bush
summer rosea1456
French rose1538
damask rose?a1547
musk rose1559
province1562
winter rose1577
Austrian brier1590
rose of Provence1597
velvet rose1597
damasine-rose1607
Provence rose1614
blush-rose1629
maiden's blush1648
monthly rose tree1664
Provinsa1678
York and Lancaster rose1688
cinnamon rose1699
muscat rose1707
cabbage rose1727
China-rose1731
old-fashioned rose1773
moss rose1777
swamp rose1785
alba1797
Cherokee rose1804
Macartney rose1811
shepherd's rose1818
multiflora1820
prairie rose1822
Boursault1826
Banksian rose1827
maiden rose1827
moss1829
Noisette1829
seven sisters rose1830
Dundee rambler1834
Banksia rose1835
Chickasaw rose1835
Bourbon1836
climbing rose1836
green rose1837
hybrid China1837
Jaune Desprez1837
Lamarque1837
perpetual1837
pillar rose1837
rambler1837
wax rose1837
rugosa1840
China1844
Manetti1846
Banksian1847
remontant1847
gallica1848
hybrid perpetual1848
Persian Yellow1848
pole rose1848
monthly1849
tea rose1850
quarter sessions rose1851
Gloire de Dijon1854
Jacqueminot1857
Maréchal Niel1864
primrose1864
jack1867
La France1868
tea1869
Ramanas rose1876
Japanese rose1883
polyantha1883
old rose1885
American Beauty1887
hybrid tea1890
Japan rose1895
roselet1896
floribunda1898
Zéphirine Drouhin1901
Penzance briar1902
Dorothy Perkins1903
sweetheart1905
wichuraiana1907
mermaid1918
species rose1930
sweetheart rose1936
peace1944
shrub rose1948
1731 P. Miller Gardeners Dict. I Double China Rose, commonly called in the West Indies, Martinico Rose.
1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 298/2 China Rose, Hibiscus.
1830 M. R. Mitford Our Village IV. 244 In the middle of a fine October, while the China-roses covered the walls.
China-root n. (see china n.2).
China silk n. a lightweight silk fabric in plain weave.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > thin or light weight
sendala1225
silk chiffon1530
silk gauze1530
silk jersey1530
patola1605
China silk1614
China-crape1813
senshaw1817
tullec1818
zephyrine1820
mousseline de soie1850
lisse1852
illusion1857
sendaline1866
crêpe de chine1872
louisine1882
chameleon tulle1896
météor1908
1614 in T. Roe Jrnl. (1899) II. 556 A Riall and a half of 8 the pownd..is more than the whight China silke doth cost in the Indies.
1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 335 We had Fifteen Bales of very fine China Silks.
1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table xi. 314 Some marrowy crapes of China silk, Like wrinkled skins on scalded milk.
1945 ‘C. S. Forester’ Commodore iii. 27 A nightshirt of solid China silk.
China snoek n. South African a small immature specimen of the snoek fish Thyrsites atun (see quot. 1957).
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the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > suborder Trichiuroidei > [noun] > member of family Gemplyidae (snoek)
snoek1797
China snoek1950
1950 Cape Argus 28 Oct. (Mag.) 3/6 China snoek..have thicker bodies and shorter heads than the large snoek. The scientists refuse to recognize the China snoek as a different species.
1957 S. Schoeman Strike! 117 The so-called ‘China snoek’, those undersized snoek which are found in Table Bay docks during August to October and in False Bay during November–January.
China tea n. a type of tea prepared from a small-leaved variety of tea plant ( Camellia sinensis variant sinensis) grown chiefly in S. China and differing from other kinds of tea chiefly in that it is cured with smoke.
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the world > food and drink > drink > tea manufacture > [noun] > types of dry tea > China tea
China tea1811
1811 J. Austen Let. 31 May (1995) 191 We began our China Tea three days ago.
1920 J. M. Barrie Kiss for Cinderella iii. 130 You'll have a cup of China tea and some of this cake?
China-tree n. (U.S.) the azedarac n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > non-British trees or shrubs > [noun] > azedarac
white cedar1654
bead-tree1668
azedarac1753
Melia1753
pride of China1778
pride of India1803
margosa1813
neema1819
China-tree1819
sandal-tree1864
holy tree1866
China-berry1890
1819 E. Evans Pedestrious Tour 315 Here grew the China tree, of a beautiful appearance, and bearing fruit of an inviting aspect.
1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 48 The china-tree, catalpa, fig, pomgranate, banana, and orange..charm..the beholder.
1833 H. Barnard in Maryland Hist. Mag. 13 355 The streets of A. are planted with the China tree, which has a very bright green leaf.
1847 H. W. Longfellow Evangeline ii. ii. 21 Shaded by china-trees..Stood the houses of planters.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxxviii. 246 The shadows of the graceful China trees lay minutely pencilled on the turf below.
China-wax n. a white crystalline wax soluble in alcohol, the product of Coccus sinensis.
C2. (In sense II.)
a. Simple attributive.
(a) Of china, made of china or porcelain. [In the earliest quotations China probably often bears sense 1, the transition being gradual.]
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1589 Voy. Sir F. Drake in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. sig. Mmm6v Fine China dishes of white earth, and great store of China silks.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Porcellana..whereof they make China dishes, called Porcellan dishes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 92 They are not China-dishes, but very good dishes. View more context for this quotation
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica ii. v. §7 We are not throughly resolved concerning Porcellane or China dishes, that according to common belief they are made of Earth.
1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 Mar. (1965) I. 383 The Sherbet..was serv'd in China Bowls.
18.. L. Hunt Country Lodging The chaney shepherds and shepherdesses on the mantelpiece.
1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets iv. 141 The fall of a chinajar.
1884 R. Holland Gloss. Words County of Chester (1886) 60 Thy uncle and aunts' comin to tay this afternoon, Mary; tha'd better get th' chainy cups and saucers ait.
(b) figurative.
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1884 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta 183 The mischief he will do to his neighbours' china creeds and delicate porcelain opinions, is shocking to contemplate.
b. General attributive. See also china-clay n., China-metal n.
(a)
china-blue n.
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a1865 E. C. Gaskell Wives & Daughters (1866) I. ix. 94 Her eyes were soft, large, and china-blue in colour.
china-fancier n.
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1878 Hallberger's Illustr. Mag. 1002 To china-fanciers he is known as the famous Maestro Giorgio.
china-hunter n.
Π
1878 Hallberger's Illustr. Mag. 1002 To the china-hunter, every object in his cabinet or on his brackets is a trophy.
china-oven n.
Π
1875 Guide Royal Porc. Wks. 17 A china oven takes about forty hours to fire.
china-shop n. (see also bull n.1 1c.)
Π
1616 T. Roe Let. 14 Feb. in Embassy to Great Mogul (1899) I. 134 I thought all India a China shop, and that I should furnish all my Frendes with rarietyes.
1727 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Postscr. in J. Swift et al. Misc. II. 211 How he set up a China-shop over-against Nic. Frog.
1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xxxii. 287 Such a bull in a china-shop I never saw.
(b)
china-like adj.
Π
1868 J. Timbs Eccentr. Animal Creation 299 Porcelain crabs, with delicate, china-like shells.
c. † china-house n. Obsolete a house where china-ware was exhibited (often alluded to as a house of assignation). † china-tipper n. Obsolete (see tip n.1). † china-woman n. Obsolete (see Chinawoman n. 1).
china-closet n. a closet for china.
Π
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 109 Her China Closet, cause of daily Care.
1823 C. Lamb Old China in Elia 2nd Ser. When I go to visit any great houses, I enquire for the china-closet.
china eye n. a wall eye.
Π
1928 F. T. Barton Kennel Encycl. 372 Wall eye..is applied to one or both eyes..in which the iris or the irises is destitute of its usual pigmentation, giving the eye a light colour—China eye.
1964 F. O'Rourke Mule for Marquesa (1967) vi. 80 He turned and his right eye rolled, the china eye, white-marbled and yellow-veined, the birthmark, the trademark of the man.
china-glaze n. a preparation for painting blue fret, composed of glass, lead, and blue calx.
Π
1784 S. Jones Let. 8 Mar. in J. Wedgwood Sel. Lett. (1965) 288 A man that can make as good a China glaze..as any man in the country.
Π
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne i. iii, in Wks. I. 536 To watch when ladies are gone to the China houses, or the Exchange. View more context for this quotation
1730 J. Miller Humours Oxf. ii. i. 19 For the Evening, that Noon of Pleasure — Opera's, Masquerades, Assemblies, China-Houses, Play-Houses.
china-man n. (see Chinaman n. 1).
china mark n. a collectors' name for any moth of the genus Hydrocampa and allied genera.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Pyralidae > china mark
china mark1832
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 150 Hydrocampa... The Lettered China-mark (H. literalis).
1901 W. F. Kirby Butterflies & Moths 112 China Marks..are moths rarely exceeding an inch in expanse.
1959 J. Clegg Freshwater Life Brit. Isles (ed. 2) xiv. 213 They are commonly called the China Mark Moths from the fancied resemblance of the markings on the wings of some of them to the potters' marks inscribed on the bottom of good china.
china money n. (see quot. and cf. china token n.).
Π
1868 L. Jewitt in Art Jrnl. 282/1 The issuing of ‘chainé money’, i.e., tokens representing different values of money, made of china... They were called ‘Mr. Cokes' coin’, or ‘chainé money’ (china money), in the provincialism of the locality.
china-painting n.
Π
1880 Harper's Mag. June 36 Hundreds of women who are taking lessons in china-painting.
1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses & Other Stories 263 She gave lessons in china-painting.
china-paints n. pigments specially prepared for use upon china.
china-shell n. a collectors' name of the Ovulum ovum, given in allusion to the white porcelain-like surface of the shell.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > superorder Branchifera > order Prosobranchiata > section Siphonostomata > family Cypraeidae > member of genus Ovulum
poached egg1776
china-shell1886
1886 Gray & Woodward Sea-Weeds, Shells 47 The Cypræ idæ or Cowries..With these is classed the ‘China-shell’ (Ovulum).
china-stone n. a kind of talcose granite, the felspar of which has undergone partial decomposition, used for producing a glaze in the manufacture of porcelain.
Π
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) I. 776 No satisfactory explanation has yet been offered of the conditions which operate on the granite to produce the China stone.
Π
1720 London Gaz. No. 5900/4 Henry Ward..China-Tipper, late of Little Old Bailey.
china token n. a token of porcelain or earthenware used in porcelain and pottery works.
ΚΠ
1878 L. Jewitt Ceramic Art II. 141 One peculiarity connected with the Pinxton China Works..is the issuing of china tokens, i.e., tokens representing different values of money, made of china, and payable as money among the workpeople and others, including shopkeepers.
china-ware n. (see 2a).
china wedding n. U.S. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1888 Girl's Own Paper 24 Mar. 407/2 In America..is the ‘crystal-wedding’, which is kept after fifteen years of married life... Then, too, there is the ‘china-wedding’, which is observed five years later.
Draft additions 1993
China syndrome n. an imaginary sequence of events following the meltdown of a nuclear reactor, in which so much heat is generated that the core melts through its containment structure and deep into the earth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > [noun] > destructive scenario (China syndrome)
China syndrome1970
1970 Esquire June 76/4 This ‘fast-breeder reactor’ required a large flow of coolant to keep control and prevent the ‘China syndrome’ — a constant worry to technicians, for once she starts melting, she'll melt her way all the way down to China.
1986 Times 12 May 1/5 Mr. Velikhov's announcement gave no clear indication just how close the Chernobyl disaster came to creating the so-called ‘China Syndrome’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
chinan.2
1. The thick fleshy root-stock of a shrubby climbing plant ( Smilax China L.) closely akin to Sarsaparilla, and once supposed to possess great medicinal virtues.
a. China root n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > sarsaparilla and other medicinal smilax plants > root of
American China1577
china1582
China root1588
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots
zedoaryOE
madderOE
setwall?c1225
liquoricec1275
rhubarba1400
ireosc1400
liquorice-racec1400
sage root14..
maple root1523
liquorice-root1530
rhabarbarum1533
orris1545
turmeric1545
cypressc1550
pyrethrum1562
china1582
China root1588
orris root1598
red squill1629
ginseng1654
ague root1676
poke root1687
cassumunar1693
nettle root1707
valerian root1747
belly-ache-root1775
Indian root1775
Turkey rhubarb1789
sumbul1791
serpentaria1803
Honduras sarsaparilla1818
serpentary1837
sang1843
savanilla1856
manaca1866
gelsemium1875
sanguinaria1875
Indian turmeric1890
1563 G. de Orta Coloquios dos Simples f. 177 Alguma raiz ou pao de China.]
1588 T. Hariot Briefe Rep. Virginia sig. C4 The China root brought from the East Indies.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xxxiv. 68/1 They heale them with the roote China.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World xv. 409 China affords Drugs in great abundance; especially China Root.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. i. 18 Take..3 Ounces of China Roots.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1066 China root..first introduced from China in a.d. 1535, as an infallible remedy for gout.
b. China.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > sarsaparilla and other medicinal smilax plants > root of
American China1577
china1582
China root1588
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > medicine composed of a plant > [noun] > plant used in medicine > root > specific roots
zedoaryOE
madderOE
setwall?c1225
liquoricec1275
rhubarba1400
ireosc1400
liquorice-racec1400
sage root14..
maple root1523
liquorice-root1530
rhabarbarum1533
orris1545
turmeric1545
cypressc1550
pyrethrum1562
china1582
China root1588
orris root1598
red squill1629
ginseng1654
ague root1676
poke root1687
cassumunar1693
nettle root1707
valerian root1747
belly-ache-root1775
Indian root1775
Turkey rhubarb1789
sumbul1791
serpentaria1803
Honduras sarsaparilla1818
serpentary1837
sang1843
savanilla1856
manaca1866
gelsemium1875
sanguinaria1875
Indian turmeric1890
1582 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Compend. Rationall Secretes iii. xlvii. 67 This China is a roote like vnto the roote of Canna, the whiche is brought vnto vs, out of India, from an Ile called China, from whence it tooke his name China.
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) App. 1619 China..to cure the French Pox.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Aristippus, a Decoction of Sarsa, China, etc.
2. American China n. (or Bastard China) the root of Smilax pseudo-China of W. Indies and Carolina, still employed in America as an alterative medicine. Carolina China-root n. Smilax tamnoides. West Indian China-root n. ( Cissus sicyoides) a tropical plant closely resembling the vine.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > medicines used to affect nutrition > [noun] > plant-derived
American China1577
sassafras1577
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > non-British climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > American or West Indian
water withy1559
West Indian China-root1577
savannah flower1696
water withe1696
Spanish woodbine1731
potato vine1750
Indian grass1753
seven-year vine1756
tropaeolum1759
woodbine1760
water vine1774
canariensis1835
Philodendron1840
Monstera1858
twig-climber1900
money bush1924
potato creeper1925
sweetheart plant1963
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > sarsaparilla and other medicinal smilax plants > root of
American China1577
china1582
China root1588
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular medicinal plants or parts > non-British medicinal plants > [noun] > sarsaparilla and other medicinal smilax plants
arbor vine1562
sarsaparilla1577
smilax1601
Carolina China-root1673
Botany Bay tea1728
sweet tea1728
German sarsaparilla1821
rabbit root1834
1577 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes i. f. 13v Hee saide..that not onely there was in the newe Spaine China: but, [etc.].
1633 T. Johnson Gerard's Herball (new ed.) App. 1617 Of China, and Bastard China.
1673 in Fox Bourne Locke (1876) I. vi. 326 By the last fleet I sent you a parcel of Carolina china-root.
1731 Dr. Mortimer Nat. Hist. Carolina in Philos. Trans. 1729–30 (Royal Soc.) 36 432 Smilax, the Inhabitants of Carolina..call it there China-Root.
1756 P. Browne Civil & Nat. Hist. Jamaica ii. ii. 359 The China-root Plant..is frequent in the more cool inland parts of Jamaica.
Compounds
China-ale n. ale flavoured with China-root.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > ale > [noun] > flavoured ale
Welsh aleeOE
braggetc1405
buttered ale1547
sage ale1584
wormwood-ale1603
bragoes1605
mace-ale1605
China-ale1659
horseradish ale1664
butter ale1666
1659 I. Newton in D. Brewster Life I. Newton (1831) i. 18 Otiose et frustra expensa, sherbet and reaskes, China ale, Beere.
1713 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer (1743) iii. 193 To make China-Ale. To six Gallons of Ale take ¼ lb. or more of China-root thin sliced, etc.
China-alehouse n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking place > [noun] > tavern or public house > beer- or ale-house
alehouselOE
beer-housea1513
change1609
barley-islanda1634
China-alehouse1662
mum-house1662
mug-house1685
purl house1700
porterhouse?1730
beer-cellar1732
kiddleywink1830
beer hall1837
tiddlywink1844
beer-garden1863
brasserie1864
purl-boat1902
bierstube1909
keller1927
bierhaus1930
1662–3 Pepys 17 Jan. Thence with him to the China ale-house.
China-broth n. broth made with China-root.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > soup or pottage > [noun] > other soups
breec1000
mortressc1387
cretone?a1400
mortrelc1400
primrosea1450
water-kale?a1500
white broth?1537
plum broth1614
mutton broth1615
veal brotha1625
nettle-kale?c1625
China-broth1628
bisque1647
beer-broth1648
dilligrout1662
nativity broth1674
sowdyc1700
mandarin broth1701
white soup1708
soup-vermicell1724
soup-meagre1733
burgoo1743
sago-gruel1743
soup maigre1754
vermicelli soup1769
vermicelli1771
noodle soup1779
mock turtle soup1783
pepper-water1783
mulligatawny1784
powsowdie1787
macaroni soup1789
bird's nest soup1806
smiggins1825
garbure1829
pish-pash1834
laksa1846
sancocho1851
ajiaco1856
pepper soup1860
liquorice-soup1864
mock turtle1876
borsch1884
petite marmite1890
whey-brose1894
rassolnik1899
lokshen soup1900
menudo1904
hoosh1905
sinigang1912
waterzooi1915
Cullen Skink1916
swallow's nest soup1920
mizutaki1933
rasam1933
pasta fazool1935
pho1935
pasta fagioli1951
stracciatella1954
solyanka1958
tom yam1960
mannish water1968
pasta e fagioli1968
ribollita1968
tom yam kung1969
1628 R. Burton Anat. Melancholy (ed. 3) i. ii. ii. ii. 70 A diet drinke in the morning, Cock-broth, China-broth at dinner.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
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n.1adj.1555
n.21577- sparkers
- sparkful
- sparkgap
- sparkgushing
- sparkier
- sparkiest
- sparkily
- sparkin
- sparkiness
- sparking
- sparking arrangement
- sparking coil
- sparking distance
- sparking knob
- sparking plug
- sparkish
- sparkishly
- sparkishness
- sparkle
- sparkle away
- sparkle-blazing
- sparkle-drifting
- sparkle-eyed
- sparkleberries
- sparkleberry