Cathay

Cathay, also Cataya, Cathay, Cathay or Kitai and similar, is the old, by Marco Polo in his travel journal "Il Milione " used name for China, especially northern China. The name is derived from the realm of the Kitan. The accepted theory today that Marco Polo's Cathay and China describe the same country, has developed Matteo Ricci in 1601.

Today it is used as part of the name of various companies, most common is surely Cathay Pacific, but also a watch brand and the series edition cathay project in Publisher to use the name. The word Kitai (or Kytaj or Kitajska ) as usual designation for China, there are still many languages ​​in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, the Bulgarian, Kazakh ( Қытай ), Ossetian and Chuvash, Russian, ( Китай ), Slovene ( Kitajska ), Ukrainian and Belorussian ( Кітай ).