Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1670s (scholarly), 1970s (general)
Yin yang
from yīn-yáng
- Meaning
- The complementary pair of dark/light, passive/active principles in Chinese philosophy.
- Source word
- yīn-yáng
- Route into English
- Mandarin *yīn* (shaded side of a hill) + *yáng* (sunny side) → English via 19th-century translations of Daoist and Confucian texts → 20th-century pop-philosophy usage.
- Arrived
- 1670s (scholarly), 1970s (general)
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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