Dai

//daɪ// name, noun, slang

Definitions

Proper Noun
  1. 1
    A diminutive of the male given name David, from Welsh.
  2. 2
    A small northern state of ancient China. historical
  3. 3
    A surname.
  4. 4
    Initialism of Dragon Age: Inquisition. abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, slang
  5. 5
    Various other kingdoms and princely appenages of imperial China named for the ancient state. historical
Show 2 more definitions
  1. 6
    A prefecture of Shanxi under imperial China. historical
  2. 7
    A county of Xinzhou Prefecture in Shanxi, China.

    "Tian Yongsheng from Shanxi province is desperate to find a way to relieve the chest pain which has haunted him for years.[…] He is well aware what will happen if he is not treated. Many of his neighbours in Dai county - all coal miners - have died of the disease after suffering great pain. 'In the five villages [in Dai county] that I knew, all men from 18 to 50 suffer pneumoconiosis,' said Mr Tian. 'Among 100 coal miners, 100 have pneumoconiosis."

Noun
  1. 1
    A wet nurse; a midwife. Bangladesh, India, North, Pakistan

    "Kausalya, she learnt, was his dai, the one who had breast-fed and looked after him."

  2. 2
    An ethnic group of China, one of the 55 officially-recognized minorities.
  3. 3
    A member of the ethnic group.

Etymology

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Hindi दाई (dāī), from Sanskrit.

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Welsh Dai.

Etymology 3

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 傣 (Dǎi), borrowed from a Tai language. Doublet of Tai and Thai. Compare Thai ไท (tai).

Etymology 4

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin 代 (Dài), likely from a presinitic name for the area or its people.

Etymology 5

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of the Mandarin pronunciation of Chinese 戴 (Dài).

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