chi

nounnounnounnouncommon in dialogue

//kaɪ//
//t͡ʃiː//
//t͡ʃə//

The twenty-second letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets.

noun

1
The twenty-second letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets.

Etymology

From Latin chī, from Ancient Greek χεῖ (kheî).

noun

1
A life force in traditional Chinese philosophy, culture, medicine, etc, related (but not limited) to breath and circulation.
Early Taoist philosophers and alchemists regarded ch'i as a vital force inhering in the breath and bodily fluids and developed techniques to alter and control the movement of ch'i within the body; their aim was to achieve physical longevity and spiritual power.
He took several deep breaths, finding his chi as Butler had taught him.
At the greenmarket, it’s still mostly potatoes and apples. There are no tender greens, fava beans, peas, asparagus, artichokes, sorrel, rhubarb or early strawberries. Those harbingers of the season are said to be full of chi, or qi, the Chinese word for life force. We’re craving them as we’re craving lighter, brighter-tasting meals, food that is greener and fresher.
According to traditional Chinese medicine, blood carries chi, your “life force,” which fuels all the functions of the body. When you lose blood, you lose chi, and this causes your body to go into a state of yin (cold). When yin (cold) and yang (hot) are out of balance, your body will suffer physical disorders.

Etymology

From the Mandarin 氣／气 (qì) from the Wade–Giles romanization: chʻi⁴, from Middle Chinese 氣 (MC khj+jH), from Old Chinese 氣 (OC *kʰɯds, “breath, vapor”). Compare modern Japanese 気(き) (ki), Korean 기(氣) (gi) and Vietnamese khí (氣).

noun

1
The Chinese foot, a traditional Chinese unit of length based on the human forearm.
2
The Chinese unit of length standardized in 1984 as ¹/₃ of a meter.
3
The Taiwanese unit of length standardized as ¹⁰/₃₃ of a meter, identical to the Japanese shaku.
4
The chek or Hong Kong foot, a unit of length standardized as 0.371475 meters.

Etymology

From the pinyin romanization of Mandarin 尺 (chǐ). Doublet of chek.

noun

1
Variant of chihuahuaClipping of chihuahua.

Forms

plural: chis

chewed · That has been chewed; masticated.chewing · The act by which something is chewed on; mastication.Cheyenne · A member of an indigenous people of the Great Plains in North…

chi · The twenty-second letter of the Classical and Modern Greek alphabets.

Chi · A Chinese surname.Chiang · A surname from Mandarin; variant form Jiang.chic · Elegant, stylish.

The neighbouring pages — Alphabetical order follows the rules of the language, not byte values: an accent decides only between two otherwise identical words, and Spanish files Ñ as a letter of its own.