Etymologically
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yuan

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 24 October 2026 at 18:41. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˌjuːˈæn/, /ˈwæn/[1]
  • US: /juˈɑn/, /ˈwɑn/[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Chinese 元 (yuán),[1][2] a writing of 圓 (yuán, “round, circular; a round object, a dollar coin”),[1][3][2][4][5] in the older spelling yüan.[2][6] Wiktionary connects the name with the round silver coin, the piece of eight,[1] and the American Heritage Dictionary takes the currency sense as a loan translation of Japanese 円 (en), the yen, which is written with the same character.[5][1] The word is thus a doublet of won as well as of the yen.[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

In archaeology, a flat ring or pierced disc of jade, common from the Shang period onwards: 1912, in a publication of the Field Museum of Natural History.[4]

Semantic evolution

As the name of a currency, the Chinese unit introduced in 1914, the OED records the word from 1921,[4][3] Merriam-Webster from 1917,[2] and Dictionary.com from 1915–20.[7] Before the founding of the People's Republic in 1949 the yuan was also known in English as the dollar,[2] and the name is also used for the dollar of the Republic of China on Taiwan.[2] In the People's Republic the yuan is the basic unit of the renminbi, divided into ten jiao and a hundred fen.[6][4]

Timeline

  • 1912 – a flat ring or perforated disc of jade.[4]
  • 1914 – the Chinese unit of currency is introduced.[3][4]
  • 1917 – first known use for the currency, according to Merriam-Webster.[2]
  • 1921 – the currency unit, in the OED.[4]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. The basic monetary unit of China, divided into ten jiao or a hundred fen; also called the renminbi: The ticket cost forty yuan.
  2. A coin or banknote worth one yuan.
  3. The dollar of the Republic of China (Taiwan).
  4. (archaeology) A flat jade ring or perforated disc of ancient China.

Usage notes

Two other words are spelled the same in English.[4][8] Yuan, the name of the Mongol dynasty that Kublai Khan established over all China in 1279 and that ruled until 1368, is recorded from 1673 and comes from Chinese 元 (yuán, “first”).[4][8][5][6] Yuan as a department of government, such as the Executive Yuan or the Legislative Yuan of the Nationalist government, is recorded from 1928 and comes from 院 (yuàn, “courtyard, hall”).[4][2][8][1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  6. ^ a b c Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  7. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
  8. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press