qilin

From the Hanyu Pinyin romanization of Mandarin 麒麟 (qílín). Doublet of kirin.

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʃiːlɪn/, /ˈkiːlɪn/

qilin (plural qilins)

1. A mythical Chinese hooved chimerical creature, said to appear in conjunction with the arrival of a sage.

   Synonym: kirin

   • 1989, Ernst J. Grube, Eleanor G. Sims, Islamic Art: Volume 3:

     ...a red and gold textile with phoenixes in one row swooping towards qilins in the next amidst a densely foliated ground...

   • 2001, David J. Roxburgh, Prefacing the image: the writing of art history in sixteenth-century Iran:

     Roundel depicting dragon attacked by qilins; mounted on an album page.

   • 2010, Molly Blaisdell, Necdet Yilmaz, Truth about Unicorns:

     When the qilin leaves, the emperor traces the shapes he saw into the dirt.

• kilin, kylin

• IPA^(key): /ki.lin/; /tʃi.lin/

qilin m (plural qilins)

1. (Chinese mythology) qilin