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yuan

/ˌjuːˈæn/ noun

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about yuan at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

  1. The basic unit of money in China.
  2. The imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368.

Origin

From Mandarin 元 (yuán), from 圓/圆 (yuán, “circle > round coin”) referring to the piece of eight. Compare Japanese 円(えん) (en), Korean 원(圓) (won). Doublet of yen and won.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)