li

Meaning

Noun

• In solfège, the raised sixth note of a major scale (the note A-sharp in the fixed-do system).
• The Chinese mile, a traditional unit of distance equal to 1500 chis or 150 zhangs, now standardized as a half-kilometer (500 meters).
• The Korean mile, a traditional unit of distance equivalent to about 393m.
• A traditional Chinese unit of weight, equal to one-thousandth of a liang, or fifty milligrams.
• A meaningful ceremony or ritual; etiquette, behaviour.
• An ancient Chinese cauldron having three hollow legs.

Origin

• An early romanization of Chinese Mandarin 里. As a Korean unit, via the Yale romanization of Korean 리, from the Chinese distance.
• From Mandarin 市厘.
• From Mandarin 禮.
• From Mandarin 鬲.
• Altered from la, with the vowel changed to signify a raised note.