qilin

qilin

See also: qílín

English

Etymology

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 麒麟 (qílín). Doublet of kirin.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʃiː.lɪn/, /ˈkiː.lɪn/

Noun

qilin (plural qilins)

1. A mythical Chinese hooved chimerical creature, said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage.
   • 1989, Ernst J. Grube, Eleanor G. Sims, Islamic Art: Volume 3

     ...a red and gold textile with phoenixes in one row swooping towards qilins in the next amidst a densely foliated ground...

   • 2001, David J. Roxburgh, Prefacing the image: the writing of art history in sixteenth-century Iran

     Roundel depicting dragon attacked by qilins; mounted on an album page.

   • 2010, Molly Blaisdell, Necdet Yilmaz, Truth about Unicorns

     When the qilin leaves, the emperor traces the shapes he saw into the dirt.

Alternative forms

• kilin, kirin, kylin

Translations

mythical creature

Chinese: Cantonese: 麒麟 (kei4 leon4) Mandarin: 麒麟 (zh) (qílín) Min Dong: 麒麟 (gì-lìng) Min Nan: 麒麟 (zh-min-nan) (kî-lîn) Wu: 麒麟 (jji lin) Finnish: qilin French: qilin (fr) m German: Qilin m Japanese: 麒麟 (ja) (kirin) Korean: 기린 (ko) (girin) Russian: цили́нь m (cilínʹ) Thai: กิเลน (th) (gì-leen) Vietnamese: kì lân, kỳ lân (vi)

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French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ki.lin/, /tʃi.lin/

Noun

qilin m (plural qilins)

1. (mythology) qilin