feng shui

Etymology

It is borrowed from Chinese 風水 (fēngshuǐ, “geomancy; literally, wind and water”),^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a compound of 風 (fēng, “wind”) and 水 (shuǐ, “water”).^[2][3][5][7] The American Heritage Dictionary traces the second part back to Proto-Sino-Tibetan *lwi (“water”).^[2] English has also spelt it “feng-shui” and “fung-shui”.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

In Chinese belief, a system of good and evil spirit influences living in the natural features of a landscape, and hence a kind of geomancy for dealing with them: 1797, in the Encyclopædia Britannica.^[3][4]

Semantic evolution

In the 19th century the word was used of the Chinese practice of judging whether a site was lucky or unlucky for a grave, a house or a city, as Etymonline quotes the Century Dictionary.^[7][3] Later dictionaries describe it as an art of choosing and arranging a site, a building or a room so that it is in harmony with the spiritual forces or the flow of chi in the surroundings, which is believed to bring good fortune,^[8][4][9] and the word also came to mean the arrangement of a place according to these rules.^[9][1] Collins dates the word in English to the 20th century,^[8] although the OED and Webster's record it from 1797.^[3][4]

Timeline

• 1797 – a system of spirit influences in the landscape, and the geomancy for dealing with them.^[3][4] Dictionary.com dates it to 1795–1800.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. A Chinese system of geomancy that chooses or arranges a site, building or room so that it is in harmony with natural and spiritual forces, believed to bring good fortune.^[8][4][9][3]
2. The arrangement or orientation of a place according to these principles: The new owners changed the feng shui of the office.^[9][1]

Verb

1. To arrange a room or space according to feng shui.^[1]

Usage notes

The pronunciation /fɛŋˈʃuː.i/, from the spelling, is often regarded as incorrect,^[1] though the OED records a British /ˈfʌŋˌʃuːi/.^[3] The practice is the subject of puns such as "I never thought I'd get into Feng Shui, but oh, how the tables have turned".^[10]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
8. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b c d Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
10. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "I never thought I’d get into Feng Shui, but oh, how the tables have turned", 8 March 2017