yen
A painting of an opium-smoker which used to hang in Ah Sing’s opium den on w:Victoria, LondonVictoria Street in London, England.
Meanings
Noun
- The unit of Japanese currency (symbol: ¥) since 1871, divided into 100 sen.
- A coin or note worth one yen.
- A strong desire, urge, or yearning.
- Opium.
Verb
- To have a strong desire for.
Related
Similar words
Origin
- From Medhurst and Hepburn’s romanizations, under the influence of earlier Portuguese romanizations, of Japanese 圓 ("round#Adjective") as ye or yen, now 円, from Chinese 銀圓 ("round [[silver#Adjective"): 銀 + 圓. Cognate with Chinese 元 ("[[monetary unit, especially RMB") and Korean 원 ("[[North Korea"). won, and yuan.
- Origin uncertain, but probably from Cantonese 癮 originally in reference to opium addiction, 煙癮 or 菸癮: 煙, 菸. Compare the later yen (“opium”) and yen-yen.
- From Chinese 煙, 菸, or Cantonese 煙, 菸. Compare the earlier yen (“strong desire”) and later yen-yen.
Modern English dictionary
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