Chinese

美國

Měiguó
United States, America (a country in North America)
  • TOCFL 1
  • 美国

Etymology graph

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  • derived
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  • meaning component
  • sound component
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Origin

Attested as early as 1854, possibly as an abbreviation of 亞美理駕洲大合眾國／亚美理驾洲大合众国 (“United States of America”), attested in the Treaty of Wanghia [1844]. 美 (měi) also means "beautiful", which inspires false etymology.

From Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Lineage

  • characterChinese美 “beautiful; pretty; attractive; good-looking”
    • ideaChinese羊 “caprid (e.g. sheep, goat, antelope, etc.) (Classifier: 隻／只 m c)”
    • ideaChinese大 “of great size; big; large; huge”
  • characterChinese國 “country; nation; nation-state; kingdom”
    • meaningChinese囗 “box, enclosure”
    • soundChinese或 “or; either ... or ... (used to list alternatives)”
      • meaningChinese戈 “dagger-axe (an ancient Chinese weapon similar to a halberd)”
      • soundChinese員 “member”
        • soundChinese〇 “circle”
        • meaningChinese鼎 “ding (ancient large, three-legged bronze cauldron for cooking or sacrificial rituals)”

Sources