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cathay

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Ca⋅thay

[ka-they]
–noun Literary or Archaic.
China.

Origin:
< ML Cat(h)aya < Turkic; cf. Tatar Kïtai
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Ca·thay   (kā-thā')   
A medieval name for China popularized by Marco Polo in accounts of his travels. It usually applied only to the area north of the Chang Jiang (Yangtze River).
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Cathay 
1565, poetic name for "China," from M.L. Cataya, from Turk. Khitay, from Uighur Khitai, name of a Tatar dynasty that ruled Beijing 936-1122.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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