What does "ryukyu" mean?

A chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan.

Ryukyu

Common synonyms include: kingdom, language family, language group, linguistic branch, nansei shoto, okinawan culture.

/ˈɹjuːkjuː/ name

name ·Rare ·Advanced level

Proper Noun

1
A chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan.
"White Butterflies in Japan.[...]Shortly after this I left Yokohama for the Ryukyu Islands, and next had my attention attracted by the "White" in the Bay of Kagoshima."

"During the 15th century, the Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of Imperial China."

From Japanese 琉球 (Ryūkyū), from Middle Chinese 流求 (MC ljuw gjuw), a Chinese exonym for the island kingdom, of unclear origin. Doublet of Liuqiu.