zetani

Italian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Latin sētā (“silk”), probably via unattested Late Latin *sētīnus (“silken [cloth]”).[1] Very frequently folk-etymologized to derive from Arabic زيتون‎ (“Zayton; olive”),[2] a calque of Quanzhou's former Chinese nickname 刺桐城 (“Tung Tree City”), after the trees which had been extensively planted there in the 10th century by Liu Congxiao,[3] but the derivation is unsupported.[1]

Noun

zetani m (invariable)

  1. (obsolete) Synonym of setino: satin.

References
  1. "satin, n. (and adj.)" in the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1909.
  2. E.g., Henry Yule's "Chinchew" entry for the Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th ed., 1878.
  3. Kauz, Ralph. Aspects of the Maritime Silk Road, p. 145.
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