yen
noun
- the basic monetary unit of Japan
noun
- a strong desire or propensity; an urge, craving
- the craving of a drug-addict for his or her drug (originally for opium)
verb
- to have an intense desire, to long for
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /jɛn/
name
Etymology: From Mandarin 燕 (Yān), reinforced by Wade-Giles romanization: Yen¹.
- Alternative form of Yan (ancient kingdom)
“[...]Nothing but War was to be ſeen among ſo many different States, and their mutual Invaſions reduced the Empire into ſeven great Kingdoms, which were called Tſin, Tſou, Yen, Tchao, Han, Iſi, Ouei: The Kingdom of Yen, which at that time comprehended no more than the preſent Province of Petche li, made itſelf very ſoon Maſter of the Province of Leao tong, and by puſhing on its Conqueſts by degrees towards the Eaſt, Corea was at laſt brought under the Authority and wife Government of Tchen pen: This Kingdom for a long time withſtood the ambitious Attempts of the King of Tſin, called Tſin vang, but at laſt it fell under his Power as the other ſix had done: Hi vang, King of Yen and of Corea, was defeated, taken and killed in the Year 259 before the Birth of Chriſt, according to the Chineſe Hiſtory, and Tſin vang was acknowledged for Emperor of all China by the Name of Tſin chi hoang ti.”
“9. Kingdom of Yen 燕 Táking situated in lat. 39° 54' N., long. 116° 28' E., one of the districts of Shuntien fú in Chihlí, now occupies the site of the capital of the ancient kingdom of Yen, the most northern part of the empire under the reign of the Chau dynasty.”
noun
Etymology: From Mandarin 煙 /烟 (yān), 菸 /烟 (yān), or Cantonese 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the earlier yen (“strong desire”) and later yen-yen.
- Opium.
verb
Etymology: Origin uncertain, but probably from Cantonese 癮 /瘾 (jan⁵, “craving”) originally in reference to opium addiction, 煙癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵) or 菸癮 /烟瘾 (jin¹ jan⁵): 煙 /烟 (jin¹), 菸 /烟 (jin¹, “smoke, specifically opium”). Compare the later yen (“opium”) and yen-yen.
- To have a strong desire for.
“Yenning, groaning, longing after.”
“"Listen, I'm in Tom Bleutcher's suite at The Brompton House. Been here the whole Almighty morning. Olga wants you to have lunch with us." / "Olga? Who's she?" / "His daughter. You made a big hit with her last time they was in town. Come on down." / "Get the new writer." / "I got no new writer. Anyway she yens for you. Come on down."”