Kaoling

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A tall, hardy variety of sorghum grown mainly in northern China, valued for its grain and for making alcoholic drinks
2. A Chinese type of sorghum cultivated for its grain, which is used to make food and spirits
3. Sorghum grown extensively in northern China, notable for its grain and its role in traditional liquor production

Etymology: In Mandarin, 高粱 (gāoliáng) means "tall millet," a name that fits a plant that can grow well over two metres high. English took the Chinese name nearly intact, and it still refers to the same grain, which is ground into flour, cooked as porridge, and distilled into the strong spirit known as gaoliang liquor. The word is easily confused with "kaolin," the fine white clay used in porcelain and paper. That word comes from a different Chinese term, 高嶺 (gāolǐng), meaning "high ridge," the name of a hill near Jingdezhen, the porcelain-making centre. The two words sound alike in English only because both were transliterated from Chinese, and they share no meaning or root.