ASIA

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(GB):

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does Asia mean? 

• ASIA (noun)
  The noun ASIA has 2 senses:

1. the largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations

2. the nations of the Asian continent collectively

  Familiarity information: ASIA used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ASIA (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The largest continent with 60% of the earth's population; it is joined to Europe on the west to form Eurasia; it is the site of some of the world's earliest civilizations

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural objects (not man-made)

Instance hypernyms:

continent (one of the large landmasses of the earth)

Meronyms (parts of "Asia"):

Republic of Korea; South Korea (a republic in the southern half of the Korean Peninsula; established in 1948)

Kura; Kura River (a river in western Asia; rises in northeast Turkey and flows to the Caspian Sea)

Lebanese Republic; Lebanon (an Asian republic at east end of Mediterranean)

Malay Peninsula (a peninsula in southeastern Asia occupied by parts of Malaysia and Thailand and Myanmar)

Tartary; Tatary (the vast geographical region of Europe and Asia that was controlled by the Mongols in the 13th and 14th centuries)

Mongolia (a vast region in Asia including the Mongolian People's Republic and China's Inner Mongolia)

Mongolia; Mongolian People's Republic; Outer Mongolia (a landlocked socialist republic in central Asia)

Muscat and Oman; Oman; Sultanate of Oman (a strategically located monarchy on the southern and eastern coasts of the Arabian Peninsula; the economy is dominated by oil)

Islamic Republic of Pakistan; Pakistan; West Pakistan (a Muslim republic that occupies the heartland of ancient south Asian civilization in the Indus River valley; formerly part of India; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947)

Parthia (an ancient kingdom in Asia to the southeast of the Caspian Sea; it dominated southwestern Asia from about 250 BC to AD 226)

Katar; Qatar; State of Katar; State of Qatar (an Arab country on the peninsula of Qatar; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1971; the economy is dominated by oil)

Asian Russia (the Russia that is part of Asia)

Kazak; Kazakh; Kazakhstan; Kazakstan; Republic of Kazakhstan (a landlocked republic to the south of Russia and to the northeast of the Caspian Sea; the original Turkic-speaking inhabitants were overrun by Mongols in the 13th century; an Asian soviet from 1936 to 1991)

Kirghiz; Kirghizia; Kirghizstan; Kirgiz; Kirgizia; Kirgizstan; Kyrgyz Republic; Kyrgyzstan (a landlocked republic in west central Asia bordering on northwestern China; formerly an Asian soviet but became independent in 1991)

Republic of Tajikistan; Tadjik; Tadzhik; Tadzhikistan; Tajik; Tajikistan (a landlocked mountainous republic in southeast central Asia to the north of Afghanistan; formerly an Asian soviet)

Turkmen; Turkmenia; Turkmenistan; Turkomen (a republic in Asia to the east of the Caspian Sea and to the south of Kazakhstan and to the north of Iran; an Asian soviet from 1925 to 1991)

Republic of Uzbekistan; Uzbek; Uzbekistan (a landlocked republic in west central Asia; formerly an Asian soviet)

Syria; Syrian Arab Republic (an Asian republic in the Middle East at the east end of the Mediterranean; site of some of the world's most ancient centers of civilization)

Ottoman Empire; Turkish Empire (a Turkish sultanate of southwestern Asia and northeastern Africa and southeastern Europe; created by the Ottoman Turks in the 13th century and lasted until the end of World War I; although initially small it expanded until it superseded the Byzantine Empire)

United Arab Emirates (a federation of seven Arab emirates on the eastern Arabian peninsula; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1971; rich in oil reserves)

Republic of Yemen; Yemen (a republic on the southwestern shores of the Arabian Peninsula on the Indian Ocean; formed in 1990)

Altai Mountains; Altay Mountains (a mountain range in central Asia that extends a thousand miles from Kazakhstan eastward into western Mongolia and northern China)

Argun; Argun River; Ergun He (a river in eastern Asia that arises in China and flows northeast along the border between China and Russia to become a tributary of the Amur River)

Great Rift Valley (( geology) a depression in southwestern Asia and eastern Africa; extends from the valley of the Jordan River to Mozambique; marked by geological faults)

Dae-Han-Min-Gook; Han-Gook; Korea; Korean Peninsula (an Asian peninsula (off Manchuria) separating the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan; the Korean name is Dae-Han-Min-Gook or Han-Gook)

Asian country; Asian nation (any one of the nations occupying the Asian continent)

Anatolia; Asia Minor (a peninsula in southwestern Asia that forms the Asian part of Turkey)

Afghanistan; Islamic State of Afghanistan (a mountainous landlocked country in central Asia; bordered by Iran to the west and Russia to the north and Pakistan to the east and south)

Southeast Asia (a geographical division of Asia that includes Indochina plus Indonesia and the Philippines and Singapore)

Cathay; China; Communist China; mainland China; People's Republic of China; PRC; Red China (a communist nation that covers a vast territory in eastern Asia; the most populous country in the world)

Turkestan; Turkistan (a historical region of central Asia that was a center for trade between the East and the West)

Canaan; Holy Land; Palestine; Promised Land (an ancient country in southwestern Asia on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea; a place of pilgrimage for Christianity and Islam and Judaism)

Roman Empire (an empire established by Augustus in 27 BC and divided in AD 395 into the Western Roman Empire and the eastern or Byzantine Empire; at its peak lands in Europe and Africa and Asia were ruled by ancient Rome)

Arabia; Arabian Peninsula (a peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf; strategically important for its oil resources)

Bahrain; Bahrein; State of Bahrain (an island country in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Saudi Arabia; oil revenues funded progressive programs until reserves were exhausted in 1970s)

Bangla Desh; Bangladesh; East Pakistan; People's Republic of Bangladesh (a Muslim republic in southern Asia bordered by India to the north and west and east and the Bay of Bengal to the south; formerly part of India and then part of Pakistan; it achieved independence in 1971. In local language, 'Bangladesh' means Land of the Bengalis ('Bangla' means Bengali, 'desh' means land or country))

Bhutan; Kingdom of Bhutan (a landlocked principality in the Himalayas to the northeast of India)

Bharat; India; Republic of India (a republic in the Asian subcontinent in southern Asia; second most populous country in the world; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1947)

Kingdom of Nepal; Nepal (a small landlocked Asian country high in the Himalayas between India and China)

Sitsang; Thibet; Tibet; Xizang (an autonomous region of the Peoples Republic of China; located in the Himalayas)

Iran; Islamic Republic of Iran; Persia (a theocratic Islamic republic in the Middle East in western Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was known as Persia until 1935; rich in oil)

Persia; Persian Empire (an empire in southern Asia created by Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC and destroyed by Alexander the Great in the 4th century BC)

Al-Iraq; Irak; Iraq; Republic of Iraq (a republic in the Middle East in western Asia; the ancient civilization of Mesopotamia was in the area now known as Iraq)

Japan; Nihon; Nippon (a constitutional monarchy occupying the Japanese Archipelago; a world leader in electronics and automobile manufacture and ship building)

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; Jordan (an Arab kingdom in southwestern Asia on the Red Sea)

Koweit; Kuwait; State of Kuwait (an Arab kingdom in Asia on the northwestern coast of the Persian Gulf; a major source of petroleum)

D.P.R.K.; Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK; North Korea (a communist country in the northern half of the Korean Peninsula; established in 1948)

Domain member region:

Freedom Party; Hizb ut-Tahrir (the most popular and feared Islamic extremist group in central Asia; advocates 'pure' Islam and the creation of a worldwide Islamic state)

flying carpet ((Asian folktale) an imaginary carpet that will fly people anywhere they wish to go)

Holonyms ("Asia" is a part of...):

Eurasia (the land mass formed by the continents of Europe and Asia)

Derivation:

Asian; Asiatic (of or relating to or characteristic of Asia or the peoples of Asia or their languages or culture)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The nations of the Asian continent collectively

Classified under:

Nouns denoting groupings of people or objects

Hypernyms ("Asia" is a kind of...):

accumulation; aggregation; assemblage; collection (several things grouped together or considered as a whole)

Instance hyponyms:

East; Orient (the countries of Asia)

Derivation:

Asian; Asiatic (of or relating to or characteristic of Asia or the peoples of Asia or their languages or culture)

 Context examples 

A country in Southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia.

(Azerbaijan, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A country in southwestern Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Russia.

(Azerbaijan, NCI Thesaurus)

It is rare in the United States, but is common in the Middle East and Asia.

(Behcet's Syndrome, NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases)

The epidemic form is found primarily in areas in which white (polished) rice is the staple food, as in Japan, China, the Philippines, India, and other countries of southeast Asia.

(Beri Beri, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

A type of smokeless tobacco that is made in India and is widely used throughout Asia.

(Betel quid with tobacco, NCI Dictionary)

The continent and country between the Indian Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean, south of Asia.

(Australia, NCI Thesaurus)

Patients and investigators from six continents: Europe, Australia/ New Zealand, Africa, Asia, and North and South America, cooperate by participating in extensive clinical trials in the Adjuvant breast cancer setting.

(International Breast Cancer Study Group, NCI Thesaurus)

Morinda citrifolia is native to Southeast Asia but has been extensively spread by man throughout India and into the Pacific islands as far as the French Polynesian Islands.

(Morinda citrifolia, NCI Thesaurus)

However, the situation is different in developing Asia Pacific countries where older vehicles are still widely used, and the burning of solid fuels for cooking already adds to particulate matter in ambient air.

(Nanoparticles raise vascular risk by escaping the lungs, SciDev.Net)

Fuelwood is a major source of carbon dioxide emissions in South Asia and East Africa.

(Shift to biogas helps revive forests, SciDev.Net)