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sy·cee

(sī-sē)

Lumps of pure silver bearing the stamp of a banker or an assayer and formerly used in China as money.

[Cantonese sai3 si1, fine silver (literally, fine silk, so called because the pure silver can be spun into fine threads); akin to Mandarin xísī, fine silver : Mandarin xí, thin, fine (from Middle Chinese siaj`) + Mandarin sī, silk, thread (from Middle Chinese sz̩).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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