Sinitic

American

[si-nit-ik] / sɪˈnɪt ɪk /

noun

a branch of Sino-Tibetan consisting of the various local languages and dialects whose speakers share literary Chinese as their standard language.

adjective

of or relating to the Chinese, their language, or their culture.

Sinitic British

/ sɪˈnɪtɪk /

noun

a branch of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages, consisting of the various languages or dialects of Chinese Compare Tibeto-Burman

"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

adjective

belonging or relating to this group of languages

"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

Etymology

Origin of Sinitic

1890–95; < Late Latin Sīn ( ae ) the Chinese ( Sino- ) + -itic

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Bill, was my outstanding informal teacher on poetry, plus both Western and Sinitic calligraphy, and traditional Asian manners for many years.

From New York Times

The results indicate that there was a major initial split between the Sinitic languages and the Tibeto-Burman languages before each of these two groups split further into linguistic sub-branches.

From Nature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023