japan
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Ja·pan
(jə-păn′) A country consisting of an archipelago off the eastern coast of Asia. The islands' indigenous culture was largely supplanted after c. 600 bc by settlers from the mainland, who adopted an imperial system of government modeled on China's. After a long period (12th-19th century) of domination by a series of shoguns, feudalism was abolished on the restoration of the emperor Mutsuhito (1868) and the country was opened to trade with the West. Japan's industrialization and expansionism led to a series of wars, culminating in its defeat (1945) in World War II. After the war Japan's economy was rebuilt with American assistance, developing an industrial sector centered around automobiles and electronics. Tokyo is the capital and the largest city.
Word History: In ad 670, during the early part of the Chinese Tang dynasty, Japanese scholars who had studied Chinese created a new name for their country using the Chinese phrase for "origin of the sun, sunrise," because Japan is located east of China. In the Chinese of the time (called Early Middle Chinese), the phrase was ŋit-pən'. To this the scholars added the Chinese word -kwək, "country," yielding a compound ŋit-pən'-kwək, "sun-origin-country, land of the rising sun." The consonant clusters in this word could not be pronounced in Old Japanese, and it became Nip-pon-koku or *Ni-pon-koku. The Modern Japanese names for Japan, Nippon and Nihon, come from the Old Japanese forms, minus the element meaning "country." Interestingly, the Chinese took to calling Japan by the name that the Japanese had invented, and the English name Japan ultimately derives from the Chinese version. In Mandarin Chinese, one of the descendants of Middle Chinese, the phrase evolved to Rìběnguó. Marco Polo records an early form of this as Chipangu, which he would have pronounced (chĭ-pän-go͞o) or (shĭ-pän-go͞o). The Chinese name was also borrowed into Malay as Japang, and in the 16th century, Portuguese traders borrowed the Malay name as Japão. The other languages of Europe probably adopted the name from the Portuguese. The first known use of Japan in English dates from 1577, when it is spelled Giapan.
ja·pan
(jə-păn′)n.
1. A black enamel or lacquer used to produce a durable glossy finish.
2. An object decorated with this substance.
tr.v. ja·panned, ja·pan·ning, ja·pans
1. To decorate with a black enamel or lacquer.
2. To coat with a glossy finish.
[After Japan.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Japan
(dʒəˈpæn)n
1. (Placename) an archipelago and empire in E Asia, extending for 3200 km (2000 miles) between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific and consisting of the main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu and over 3000 smaller islands: feudalism abolished in 1871, followed by industrialization and expansion of territories, esp during World Wars I and II, when most of SE Asia came under Japanese control; dogma of the emperor's divinity abolished in 1946 under a new democratic constitution; by the 1980s, rapid economic growth made Japan the most industrialized nation in the Far East. Official language: Japanese. Religion: Shintoist majority, large Buddhist minority. Currency: yen. Capital: Tokyo. Pop: 127 253 075 (2013 est). Area: 369 660 sq km (142 726 sq miles). Japanese names: Nippon or Nihon
2. (Placename) Sea of Japan the sea between mainland Asia and Japan. Korean name East Sea
japan
(dʒəˈpæn)n
1. (Crafts) a glossy durable black lacquer originally from the Orient, used on wood, metal, etc
2. (Crafts) work decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner
3. (Crafts) a liquid used as a paint drier
adj
(Crafts) relating to or varnished with japan
vb, -pans, -panning or -panned
(Crafts) (tr) to lacquer with japan or any similar varnish
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ja•pan
(dʒəˈpæn)n., adj., v. -panned, -pan•ning. n.
1. any of various durable black varnishes, orig. from Japan, for coating metal or other surfaces.
2. work varnished and figured in the Japanese manner.
adj. 3. of or pertaining to japan.
v.t. 4. to varnish with japan or japanlike material; lacquer.
[1605–15]
ja•pan′ner, n.
Ja•pan
(dʒəˈpæn)n.
1. a constitutional monarchy on a chain of islands off the E coast of Asia: main islands, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. 126,182,077; 141,529 sq. mi. (366,560 sq. km). Cap.: Tokyo. Japanese, Nihon, Nippon.
2. Sea of, the part of the Pacific Ocean between Japan and mainland Asia.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
Japan
1. devotion to or preference for the customs, policies, language, or culture of Japan.
2. anything peculiar to or characteristic of Japan or its people.
2. anything peculiar to or characteristic of Japan or its people.
a style of art, idiom, custom, mannerism, etc., typical of the Japanese.
-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
japan
Past participle: japanned
Gerund: japanning
| Imperative |
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| japan |
| japan |
Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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| Noun | 1. |  Japan - a string of more than 3,000 islands to the east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific OceanHondo, Honshu - the central and largest of the four main islands of Japan; between the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean; regarded as the Japanese mainland Kyushu - the southernmost of the four main islands of Japan; contains coal fields Shikoku - the smallest of the four main islands of Japan; to the south of Honshu and to the east of Kyushu; separated from Honshu by the Inland Sea; forested and mountainous Osaka Bay - a bay of the western Pacific in southern Honshu Pacific, Pacific Ocean - the largest ocean in the world |
| 2. |  Japan - a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship buildingharakiri, hara-kiri, harikari, seppuku - ritual suicide by self-disembowelment on a sword; practiced by samurai in the traditional Japanese society sumo - a Japanese form of wrestling; you lose if you are forced out of a small ring or if any part of your body (other than your feet) touches the ground go game, go - a board game for two players who place counters on a grid; the object is to surround and so capture the opponent's counters shogi - a form of chess played on a board of 81 squares; each player has 20 pieces acupressure, G-Jo, shiatsu - treatment of symptoms by applying pressure with the fingers to specific pressure points on the body jiujitsu, jujitsu, jujutsu - a method of self-defense without weapons that was developed in China and Japan; holds and blows are supplemented by clever use of the attacker's own weight and strength ninjitsu, ninjutsu - the traditional Japanese method of espionage; involves stealthy movements and the use of camouflage karate - a traditional Japanese system of unarmed combat; sharp blows and kicks are given to pressure-sensitive points on the body of the opponent origami - the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes representing objects (e.g., flowers or birds) chanoyu, tea ceremony - an ancient ritual for preparing and serving and drinking tea futon - mattress consisting of a pad of cotton batting that is used for sleeping on the floor or on a raised frame kamikaze - a fighter plane used for suicide missions by Japanese pilots in World War II Kammon Strait Bridge - a suspension bridge between Kyushu and Honshu shoji - a translucent screen made of a wooden frame covered with rice paper Shingon - a form of Buddhism emphasizing mystical symbolism of mantras and mudras and the Buddha's ideal which is inexpressible Japanese - the language (usually considered to be Altaic) spoken by the Japanese Ryukyuan - the language (related to Japanese) that is spoken by the people of the Ryukyu Islands miso - a thick paste made from fermented soybeans and barley or rice malt; used in Japanese cooking to make soups or sauces wasabi - the thick green root of the wasabi plant that the Japanese use in cooking and that tastes like strong horseradish; in powder or paste form it is often eaten with raw fish sukiyaki - thin beef strips (or chicken or pork) cooked briefly at the table with onions and greens and soy sauce sashimi - very thinly sliced raw fish sushi - rice (with raw fish) wrapped in seaweed tempura - vegetables and seafood dipped in batter and deep-fried Aum, Aum Shinrikyo, Supreme Truth - a terrorist organization whose goal is to take over Japan and then the world; based on a religion founded in 1987 that combines elements of Buddhism with Christianity; "in 1995 Aum members released deadly sarin gas on a Tokyo subway train" Chukaku-Ha - an ultra-leftist militant group founded in 1957 from the breakup of the Japanese Communist Party; includes a covert action wing; "Chukaku-Ha attacks tend to cause property damage rather than casualties" Anti-Imperialist International Brigade, Japanese Red Army, JRA - a terrorist group organized in 1970 to overthrow the Japanese government and monarchy and to foment world revolution; is said to have close ties with Palestinian terrorists; "in 1972 the Japanese Red Army was responsible for a massacre at an airport in Israel" yakuza - organized crime in Japan; an alliance of criminal organizations and illegal enterprises diet - a legislative assembly in certain countries (e.g., Japan) prefecture - the district administered by a prefect (as in France or Japan or the Roman Empire) Asahikawa - a city on western Hokkaido that is the center of a fertile agricultural area Japanese capital, Tokio, Tokyo, Yeddo, Yedo, capital of Japan, Edo - the capital and largest city of Japan; the economic and cultural center of Japan Nagano - a city in central Honshu to the northwest of Tokyo; site of a Buddhist shrine Nagoya - an industrial city in southern Honshu Omiya - a city of east central Honshu; a suburb of Tokyo Osaka - port city on southern Honshu on Osaka Bay; a commercial and industrial center of Japan Yokohama - port city on southeastern Honshu in central Japan Naha City - the chief city in the Ryukyu Islands Ryukyu Islands - a chain of 55 islands in the western Pacific to the to the southwest of Japan (returned by United States to Japan in 1972) Kyoto - a city in central Japan on southern Honshu; a famous cultural center that was once the capital of Japan Sapporo - a commercial city in northern Japan on western Hokkaido Kitakyushu - a Japanese city on northern Kyushu | |
| 3. | japan - lacquerware decorated and varnished in the Japanese manner with a glossy durable black lacquer lacquerware - a decorative work made of wood and covered with lacquer and often inlaid with ivory or precious metals | |
| 4. | japan - lacquer with a durable glossy black finish, originally from the orient lacquer - a hard glossy coating | |
| Verb | 1. | japan - coat with a lacquer, as done in Japan handicraft - a craft that requires skillful hands lacquer - coat with lacquer; "A lacquered box from China" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
Translations
Japan
الياباناليَابَان
Япония
Japó
Japonsko
Japan
JapanioJapanujo
Jaapan
ژاپن
Japani
יפן
जापान
Japan
Japán
Japon
Jepang
Japan
日本
일본
IaponiaJaponia
Japonija
Japāna
ജപ്പാന്
Japonia
Japonsko
Japonska
JapanЈапан
Japan
Japani
ญี่ปุ่นประเทศญี่ปุ่น
Японія
جاپان
Nhật Bảnnước Nhật
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japan
→ اليَابَان Japonsko Japan Japan Ιαπωνία Japón Japani Japon Japan Giappone 日本 일본 Japan Japan Japonia Japão Япония Japan ประเทศญี่ปุ่น Japonya nước Nhật 日本Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009