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Yen
Definitions
- 1 Alternative form of Yan (ancient kingdom) alt-of, alternative
"[...]Nothing but War was to be ſeen among ſo many different States, and their mutual Invaſions reduced the Empire into ſeven great Kingdoms, which were called Tſin, Tſou, Yen, Tchao, Han, Iſi, Ouei: The Kingdom of Yen, which at that time comprehended no more than the preſent Province of Petche li, made itſelf very ſoon Maſter of the Province of Leao tong, and by puſhing on its Conqueſts by degrees towards the Eaſt, Corea was at laſt brought under the Authority and wife Government of Tchen pen: This Kingdom for a long time withſtood the ambitious Attempts of the King of Tſin, called Tſin vang, but at laſt it fell under his Power as the other ſix had done: Hi vang, King of Yen and of Corea, was defeated, taken and killed in the Year 259 before the Birth of Chriſt, according to the Chineſe Hiſtory, and Tſin vang was acknowledged for Emperor of all China by the Name of Tſin chi hoang ti."
- 1 The unit of Japanese currency (symbol: ¥) since 1871, divided into 100 sen.
"Passing by those clauses of it which demand no notice, we arrive at that which provides that "each proposal (for purchase) must state the price per picul of rice in gold yen." But why in gold yen, a coin as yet so scarce as to be almost beyond the ken of the foreign merchant?"
- 2 A strong desire, urge, or yearning.
"humankind's yen for knowledge"
- 3 Opium. slang, uncountable
- 4 a yearning for something or to do something wordnet
- 5 A coin or note worth one yen.
"When banks lend, they create money out of nothing, without withdrawing it from other parts of the economy. This way, fiscal policy would not have crowded out private-sector activity yen by yen, as actually happened."
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- 6 the basic unit of money in Japan; equal to 100 sen wordnet
- 1 To have a strong desire for. transitive
"Yenning, groaning, longing after."
- 2 have a desire for something or someone who is not present wordnet
Etymology
From Medhurst and Hepburn’s romanizations, under the influence of earlier Portuguese romanizations, of Japanese 圓(えん) (en, “round; a round object”) as ye or yen, now 円(えん) (en), from Chinese 銀圓 /银圆 (yínyuán, “round silver object(s), especially a piece of eight”): 銀 /银 (yín, “silver”) + 圓 /圆 (yuán, “circular, round; yuan, yen, dollar”). Cognate with Chinese 元 (yuán, “monetary unit, especially RMB”) and Korean 원 (won, “North or South Korean won”). Doublet of won and yuan.
Origin uncertain, but probably from Cantonese 癮 /瘾 (jan⁵, “craving”) originally in reference to opium addiction, 煙癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵) or 菸癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵): 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the later yen (“opium”) and yen-yen.
Origin uncertain, but probably from Cantonese 癮 /瘾 (jan⁵, “craving”) originally in reference to opium addiction, 煙癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵) or 菸癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵): 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the later yen (“opium”) and yen-yen.
From Mandarin 煙 /烟 (yān), 菸 /烟 (yān), or Cantonese 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the earlier yen (“strong desire”) and later yen-yen.
From Mandarin 燕 (Yān), reinforced by Wade-Giles romanization: Yen¹.
See also for "yen"
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