Silk Road

[ silk rohd ]

noun

1. an ancient, 4,000-mile network of trade routes linking China with the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian subcontinent during the time of the Roman Empire, and later revived during the Middle Ages: named for the lucrative trade in silk from China to the West.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Silk Road¹

First recorded in 1895–1900

Example Sentences

Archaeologists have found the remains of two medieval cities in the grassy mountains of eastern Uzbekistan, a discovery that could shift our understanding of the fabled Silk Road.

From BBC

Ever since the launch of the Silk Road marketplace in 2011, there has been a steady conveyor belt of websites selling illegal goods and services.

From BBC

Afghan food has been influenced by different cultures across Asia given the country’s location at the crossroads of the famous “Silk Road” trading corridor of centuries past.

From Salon

It’s been driving a globalized world since the Age of Discovery, looking for spices, trading salts along the Silk Road.

From Los Angeles Times

To reach these conclusions, the team collected tens of thousands of eggshell fragments from sites located along the main Central Asian corridor of the Silk Road.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• sea lane