corean

Corean is an archaic English term historically used to refer to Korea, its people, or its language. In modern usage, the form has largely fallen out of favor, with Korea and Korean serving as the standard terms for the country, its citizens, and the language.

Origins and forms: Corean derives from Corea, an older English rendering of the Korean peninsula, itself rooted in Latin Corea and related European spellings such as the French Corée. The suffix -an was used in English to form adjectives or demonyms, producing Corean in various historical texts from the 17th through the 19th centuries.

Historical usage: In older travelogues, grammars, and encyclopedias, Corean-language and Corean-people were common phrases. The term appears in many transliterations of that era before English-speaking scholars standardized Korea and Korean in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern dictionaries typically classify Corean as obsolete or historical.

Notes: The name Corea persisted in some contexts for the peninsula, and Corea can still be seen in older geographic or historical references. Because of ongoing political and linguistic changes, Corean is not used in contemporary formal writing except when quoting historical sources or discussing linguistic history.

See also: Korea, Korean language, Corea (historical name for the peninsula).