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Apr 9, 2025
This week’s theme
Toponyms
This week’s words
The Travels of Marco Polo
Photo:
A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg
Cathay
PRONUNCIATION:
(ka-THAY)
MEANING:
noun:
1. A remote and exotic land, steeped in mystery, richness, and bliss.
2. A literary name for China.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin Cataya/Cathaya, from Turkish Khitai, from Khitan Khitai (the
Khitan people who ruled northern China). Earliest documented use: 1744.
See also .
NOTES:
Cathay is what happens when “China” puts on a silk robe and writes
poetry by moonlight. This medieval name for China was popularized by the
explorer Marco Polo in his travelogue. Cathay is the Instagram filter
version of historical China where the silk is always smooth, the tea is
always perfect, and your travel blog practically writes itself.
Cathay, because “Middle Kingdom” sounded too much like a Tolkien sequel.
USAGE:
“To reach a Cathay of spiritual harmony.”
Benjamin Townley Spencer; Patterns of Nationality; B. Franklin; 1981.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The poet is a kinsman in the clouds / Who scoffs at archers, loves a stormy
day; / But on the ground, among the hooting crowds, / He cannot walk, his
wings are in the way. -Charles Baudelaire, poet, critic, and translator (9
Apr 1821-1867)
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