Kathay

Kathay, also spelled Cathay, is a historical exonym for China used in Europe and Western contexts from the 13th to the 19th century. The form Kathay appears in older English texts as an alternative to Cathay, with both terms deriving from travelers and translators who rendered East Asian place names into Latin and vernacular languages.

Etymology: The exact origin is debated, but the term entered Western lexicons through Persian and Central Asian intermediaries who encountered the name during the era of the Khans and the Silk Road. It was popularized by travelers such as Marco Polo whose accounts shaped European conceptions of the Great Khan’s realm. In cartography and literature, Kathay/Cathay was used to designate the Chinese empire and sometimes the wider land associated with the Mongol or Ming dynasties.

Geographic and cultural scope: In practice, the exonym sometimes referred specifically to northern China or to the domain of the Great Khan, and at times to the broader regions understood as China by medieval Europeans. The term became emblematic of wealth, wonders, and the vast Asian East in travelogues and maps.

Decline and legacy: By the late 18th and 19th centuries, Western scholars largely adopted the name China, and Cathay/Kathay receded from common usage. Today, Kathay remains primarily of historical or literary interest, encountered in discussions of historical geography, translation history, or in certain fictional works. The standard modern exonym for the country is China; Cathay survives in some branding and cultural references.

See also: Cathay; China; Marco Polo; Yuan dynasty; Exonym.