chi

[kahy]

noun, plural chis.

the twenty-second letter of the Greek alphabet (X, χ).

the consonant sound represented by this letter.

Origin of chi

From Greek

chi

[chee]

noun Wade-Giles.

qi.

Chi

[chahy]

noun

Chicago.

Origin of Chi

by shortening

qi

[chœ]

noun Pinyin.

(in traditional Chinese medicine and philosophy) the vital life force that flows through the body and is supposedly regulated by acupuncture.

Also Wade-Giles, chi.

Origin of qi

From the Chinese word qì breath

Ch'i

[chyee]

noun

one of two dynasties that ruled in China a.d. 479–502 and, as the Northern Ch'i, a.d. 550–77.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chi

Chi

Examples from the Web for chi

Contemporary Examples of chi

Instead of a corsage, he brought me a plastic duck he'd stolen from a Chi Chi's restaurant.
Let Us Now Praise Famous Rednecks and Their Unjustly Unsung Kin
Allison Glock
August 23, 2014
By now I'm so overwrought with chi's and fu's and kong's and kung's that my eyes have about crossed.
The Stacks: The Neville Brothers Stake Their Claim as Bards of the Bayou
John Ed Bradley
April 27, 2014
In Chobits, hapless waiter Hideki ends up purchasing a “persocom,” an android called Chi, and slowly falls in love with her.
Hollywood Sci-Fi Films Are Ripping Off Anime
David Levesley
April 18, 2014
Chi, like Samantha (Scarlett Johannson), ends up becoming a transcendent being that threatens her relationship with a human.
Hollywood Sci-Fi Films Are Ripping Off Anime
David Levesley
April 18, 2014
Alfonso Signorini, editor of Chi magazine, has defended his decision to print the images.
Why William is Powerless To Protest New Kate Pics
Tom Sykes
February 14, 2013

Historical Examples of chi

Me and my buddies, we just come back from fighting in Chi, Gerri.
Mutineer
Robert J. Shea
Chicago came to be so common a word that they began to call it "Chi."
Negro Migration during the War
Emmett J. Scott
When he was steward of the Chi, Chung-kung asked how to rule.
The Sayings Of Confucius
Confucius
Chi Huan accepted them, and for three days no court was held.
The Sayings Of Confucius
Confucius
He gave forth the last cry with all his might, emphasising the “chi—or!”
The Crystal Hunters
George Manville Fenn

British Dictionary definitions for chi

chi

noun

the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet (Χ, χ), a consonant, transliterated as ch or rarely kh

chi

ch'i or qi

noun

(sometimes capital) (in Oriental medicine, martial arts, etc) vital energy believed to circulate round the body in currents

Word Origin for chi

Chinese, literally: energy

qi

noun

a variant of chi 2

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chi

22nd letter of the Greek alphabet, representing a -kh- sound (see ch). The letter is shaped like an X, and so the Greek letter name was used figuratively to signify such a shape or arrangement (e.g. khiasma "two things placed crosswise;" khiastos "arranged diagonally; marked with an X;" khiazein "to mark with an 'X', to write the letter 'X'"). Some dialects used chi to represent the -ks- sound properly belonging to xi; Latin picked this up and the sound value of chi in Latin-derived alphabets is now that of English X.

qi

"physical life force," 1850, from Chinese qi "air, breath."