yin1
[yin]
- See under yin and yang.
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Origin of yin1
First recorded in 1890–95
yin2
[yin]
- one.
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Yin
[yin]
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yin and yang
- (in Chinese philosophy and religion) two principles, one negative, dark, and feminine (yin), and one positive, bright, and masculine (yang), whose interaction influences the destinies of creatures and things.
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Origin of yin and yang
First recorded in 1930–35, yin and yang is from the Chinese word yīn-yáng
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for yin
Contemporary Examples
You just have to find that yin of decency and locate the gestures and words that smother the yang of fear.
“Last year fishermen were real fishermen, now they are just for show, for tourists in the lake,” Yin says.
She was the yin to Indy's yang, the pepper to his salt, and the chemistry between them was palpable.
I'm glad there's a yin in that office considering there used to be only a yang.
They are the yin and the yang of the whole film and they dance the dialectic to perfection.
Historical Examples
I can speak of the manners of Yin; but as proof of them Sung is not enough.
The Sayings Of ConfuciusConfucius
Kinsmen of the tyrant Chou Hsin, who brought the house of Yin to an end.
The Sayings Of ConfuciusConfucius
And there was yin with her—the foreign lady with the lang name.
The Northern IronGeorge A. Birmingham
There's naething wrang wi' Fintry; mony a yin I've sent there.
Erchie(AKA Hugh Foulis) Neil Munro
There's yin thing sure—it's no' a case o' wife-desertion, for Jinnet's wi' him.
Erchie(AKA Hugh Foulis) Neil Munro
yin
- a Scot word for one
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Yin and Yang
- two complementary principles of Chinese philosophy: Yin is negative, dark, and feminine, Yang positive, bright, and masculine. Their interaction is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe and to influence everything within it
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Word Origin
from Chinese (Peking) yin dark + yang bright
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 yin
1670s, from Chinese (Mandarin) "female, night, lunar."
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
yin and yang
Two forces in the universe, according to a Chinese theory: yin is the passive, negative force, and yang the active, positive force. According to this theory, wise people will detect these forces in the seasons, in their food, and so on, and will regulate their lives accordingly.
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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.