太平洋
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Originates from the translation of the term "Pacific Ocean," which was named by European explorers. "Pacific Ocean" was coined by Ferdinand Magellan in 1520. When Magellan reached the ocean, he called it Mar Pacífico in Portuguese, meaning "peaceful sea," because of its calm waters compared to the stormy Atlantic crossing.
When Western geographic terms were introduced to China, translators sought to convey the essence of "Pacific Ocean" in Chinese. They chose 太平 (Tàipíng) to represent "pacific" or "peaceful" and 洋 (yáng) as a general term for "ocean" or "sea."
太平洋
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.