Etymograph

English

Hunan

Hunan comes from Mandarin 湖南.

  1. Mandarinmodern湖南Húnán
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1899Hunan

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed

Lineage

  1. Mandarinmodern湖南Húnán
  2. Englishearliest quotation 1899Hunan

Earliest quotation: 1899, Report of Permanent Committee on Christian Endeavor: “Foreign Missions.—Pursuing the Fulton pledge system of two-cents-a-week-for-Missions, our…”

The story

Borrowed from Mandarin 湖南 (Húnán) Wade-Giles romanization: Hu²-nan², literally “south of the lake”, referring to Lake Dongting.

Every English word from Mandarin 湖南

Today it means

name A province of China, located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting. Capital: Changsha.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / Mandarin 湖南 / Hunan

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