cathay
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the worldSynonyms: ChinaPeople's Republic of Chinamainland ChinaCommunist ChinaRed ChinaPRC
Word of the day · Sep 28About this word
onerousadjective
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Cathay \Ca*thay"\, n. China; -- an old name for the Celestial Empire, said have been introduced by Marco Polo and to be a corruption of the Tartar name for North China (Khitai, the country of the Khitans.) [1913 Webster]
Better fifty years of Europe than a cycle of Cathay. --Tennyson. [1913 Webster]