Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun Abbreviation of Christian.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a city of central China; capital of ancient Chinese empire 221-206 BC

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Χ, the first letter of Greek Χριστος (Christ)

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Examples

  • Long, cylindrical-shaped zongzi called xian rou zong

    Zongzi 2009

  • Beijing Pie House serves a dozen meat- and vegetable-filled pies, called xian bing, as well as savory pancakes, noodle soups and other northern Chinese specialties.

    latimes.com - News 2010

  • Movieguide isn't giving a "xian" perspective on Darwin.

    Pharyngula 2009

  • This hypothesis has a clear precedent in the native name of the haunting Chinese lute, the san-xian 三弦, likewise meaning precisely 'three-string'.

    The kithara 2010

  • State schools in Yunnan consisted of two kinds, one under the regular administrative units, namely, prefecture (fu), department (zhou), and county (xian) for the imperial subjects, and the other under the Wei-Suo system, called guard school (weixue), exclusively for military households.

    Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

  • This hypothesis has a clear precedent in the native name of the haunting Chinese lute, the san-xian 三弦, likewise meaning precisely 'three-string'.

    Archive 2010-08-01 2010

  • The "ten-thousand household," "one thousand household," and "one hundred household" administrative entities were replaced with lu (circuit), fu (prefect), zhou (department), and xian (county).

    Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

  • While in Chinese we speak of the san-xian 'three-string', there is also the er-hu 'two-string'.

    The kithara 2010

  • Housed near the seats of prefecture, guard, department, and county mainly were Han and Bo people (Junzhong yi yi han zachu, lie wu yu fu, wei, zhou, xian zhi jinzhe, dadi duo han bo) .128 Such a description vividly illustrates the situation of the mid-Ming when Han people settled down in urban Yunnan and fertile bazi and competed for advantageous living spaces with the indigenous population.

    Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

  • Transportation was handled by designated transportation commissioners, and mines were under local officials of prefecture (fu), subprefecture (zhou), county (xian), and subcounty (ting) where mines were located.

    Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second Century BCE to Twentieth Century CE) 2008

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