*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of Wei

From Mandarin Chinese 魏 (Wèi).

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
name

A county of Handan, Hebei, China. · An ancient Chinese march during the Zhou dynasty · Liang, the realm of the earlier march after its elevation to a kingdom · A kingdom during the Three Kingdoms interregnum following China's Han dynasty.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mandarin Chinese 魏 (Wèi).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "+ (state)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "interproject-box",
      "args": {
        "logo": "Commons-logo.svg",
        "logolink": "commons:Category:Wei (state)",
        "intro": "Wikimedia Commons has media about",
        "noitalic": "",
        "link": "Wei (state)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "commonscat",
      "args": {
        "1": "Wei (state)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "魏",
      "魏#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A county of Handan, Hebei, China.",
        "An ancient Chinese march during the Zhou dynasty",
        "Liang, the realm of the earlier march after its elevation to a kingdom",
        "A kingdom during the Three Kingdoms interregnum following China's Han dynasty."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "4eb56c3a2e72aadcf2b89670f15d0d2f724c55f15d6b6db36a91909304559720",
      "rawRecordSha256": "8ed01c4bccb9a19faffa1f70774681a3aa561a30658bffc91c079a070ceeb6e0",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4757179
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
name

An ancient Chinese duchy during the Zhou dynasty

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Mandarin Chinese 衞 /卫 (Wèi).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "Wey (state)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "衞",
      "衞#Mandarin"
    ],
    [
      "卫",
      "卫#Mandarin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "An ancient Chinese duchy during the Zhou dynasty"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "922f3fcf2f51436aa90964011d593f3ded34698d586cf2e1446f184800424fd5",
      "rawRecordSha256": "26f9a80b997eaed474404f27ebf6a3f64ef126cd1663dae0059a6291573db17b",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 4757180
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
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    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Wei →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-V2Vp