sycee

English

Etymology

From Cantonese 細絲 (sai3 si1, “fine silk”), variously explained as owing to the bullion's ability to be worked into fine strands or from the resemblance of its luster.

Pronunciation
  • (UK) IPA(key): /sʌɪˈsiː/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈsaɪsiː/, /saɪˈsiː/

Noun

sycee (countable and uncountable, plural sycees)

  1. (historical) Any of various gold or silver ingots used as currency in imperial China.
  2. (uncountable) Imitation ingots made of paper, burnt as an offering in ancestral veneration on Tomb Sweeping Day or during the Ghost Festival.

Synonyms
  • yuanbao

References
  • American Heritage Dictionary, 5th ed. "sycee". Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing, 2011.
  • Collins American English Dictionary. "sycee". Collins, 2016.
  • Merriam-Webster Online. "sycee". 2015.
  • Oxford English Dictionary, 1st ed. "sycee, n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1919.
  • Random House Dictionary. "sycee". 2016.
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