Japanese

Alternative forms

• 支那

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɕĩna̠]

Proper noun

シナ ‎(hiragana しな, romaji Shina)

1. Alternative spelling of 支那: China (prewar; often considered derogatory in modern speech)

Usage notes

The kanji spelling 支那 was more common historically, and is still encountered with some frequency when this word is used. However, this term as a whole is used less frequently than in the past, due in part to changes in geopolitics.

Derived terms

Etymology 2

シナ

From Latin cina, variously given as short for Artemisia cina ("Chinese artemisia"), or Semen cina ("Chinese seed")^[1]. The kanji used are ateji.

Alternative forms

• 支奈

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɕĩna̠]

Noun

シナ ‎(hiragana しな, romaji Shina)

1. Artemisia cina: also known as santonica, Levant wormseed, and wormseed; an herbaceous perennial of the daisy family, historically used as a vermifugic anthelmintic (a drug to rid the body of parasitic worms)

Synonyms

• シナヨモギ ‎(shina yomogi)
• セメンシナ ‎(semen shina)

References

1. ↑ “The guiding symptoms of our materia medica, Volume 4”, in (Please provide the title of the work), University of California, 1884, retrieved 2012-05-29