"Chinese," 1660s, from Medieval Latin Sinicus, from Sina "China," from Late Latin Sinae (plural) "the Chinese" (see Sino-). Sinitic, built from the Latin stem, is attested by 1859.
Entries linking to sinic
Sino-
before vowels Sin-, word-forming element meaning "Chinese," 1879, from Late Latin Sinæ (plural) "the Chinese," from Ptolemaic Greek Sinai, from Arabic Sin "China," which is probably from Chinese Ch'in (modern transliteration Qin), name of the fourth dynasty of China (see China). The alternative Sinico- is from the combining form Medieval Latin Sinicus.