Ryukyu

== English == === Alternative forms === Ryūkyū, Riukiu === Etymology === From Japanese 琉球 (Ryūkyū), from Middle Chinese 流求 (MC ljuw gjuw), a Chinese exonym for the island kingdom, of unclear origin. Doublet of Liuqiu. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /ˈɹjuːkjuː/, /ɹiˈuːkjuː/ === Proper noun === Ryukyu A chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan. Synonym: the Ryukyus ==== Synonyms ==== (from Mandarin Chinese) Liuqiu, Liuchiu ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === “Ryukyu, Riukiu”, in Google Books Ngram Viewer. Leon E. Seltzer, editor (1952), “Ryukyu Islands”, in The Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World‎[4], Morningside Heights, NY: Columbia University Press, →OCLC, page 1618, column 2: “Formerly sometimes spelled Liukiu, Liu-ch’iu, Lu-chu, Loo-choo, and Riukiu.” Saul B. Cohen, editor (1998), “Ryukyu Islands”, in The Columbia Gazetteer of the World‎[5], volume 3, New York: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 2674, columns 1, 2: “Other forms of the name are Lu-chu, Loo-choo, Liu-kiu, and Riukiu.”