Kylin

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A legendary creature from East Asian mythology, often depicted as a harmonious blend of various animals, embodies the virtues of auspiciousness and protection in folklore
2. This fantastical being, characterized by its unique appearance that combines traits of different species, symbolizes noble qualities and is often considered a messenger of peace and prosperity
3. A legendary beast from East Asian tales that merges features of multiple animals and represents auspiciousness and protection

Etymology: The creature is a qilin, and "kylin" is simply a spelling variant of the same name. Its Chinese name, 麒麟 (qílín), is romanized in Hanyu Pinyin, the standard system used for Mandarin, which is why the English form in "qilin" looks so different from the older spelling. The two spellings reflect different romanization conventions for the same Chinese word. The word has a surprising second life in English. It is a doublet of "kirin", a separate English spelling that entered the language from the same Chinese source through a different transliteration path. Doublets are words that share one origin but reached a language by different routes, and "kylin" and "kirin" are a pair of this kind, both pointing back to the single Chinese name for the beast.