Tibetan

or Thi·bet·an

[ ti-bet-n ]

adjective

1. of or relating to Tibet, its inhabitants, or their language.

noun

1. a member of the people native to or inhabiting Tibet.
2. the Sino-Tibetan language of Tibet, especially in its standard literary form.

Tibetan

/ tɪˈbɛtən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of Tibet, its people, or their language

noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Tibet
2. the language of Tibet, belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tibetan¹

First recorded in 1740–50; Tibet + -an

Example Sentences

Tibetan society is divided into a “grid system” of five to 10 households, each with a nominated representative responsible for political activities forced to keep track of individuals via an integrated electronic system.

From Time

Tens of thousands of Tibetan children have been sent away to residential schools where they are “paired” with Han teachers.

From Time

Over the past two years, China has dramatically ramped up a similar program in provinces with Tibetan populations, taking children away to schools in other parts of the country.

From Ozy

Americans have long been interested in Tibet, he said, but the growing constituency of Tibetan Buddhist believers, including immigrants from Tibet, has given the United States more standing to object to how China treats Tibet.

From Washington Post

If further research confirms that age estimate, it raises the likelihood that Denisovans survived on the Tibetan Plateau long enough to encounter the first humans to reach those heights as early as 40,000 years ago.

From Science News

Frank no longer has his convenient foil from The Lay of the Land, his Tibetan associate Mike Mahoney.

From The Daily Beast

As Gyatso wrote in his letter, “Tibetan treasures of gold and silver have been looted under suppressive Chinese law.”

From The Daily Beast

Lastly, President Obama should ask his counterpart what is driving young Tibetan monks and nuns to immolate themselves in protest.

From The Daily Beast

The large vigilante squad turned out to consist largely of Tibetan Buddhist Sherpas.

From The Daily Beast

There is a pill in Tibetan Buddhism that contains a lot of esoteric ingredients, some of which are bodily substances.

From The Daily Beast

On the way I shot two goa—Tibetan gazelle—with good heads, and horns over 14 inches long.

From Project Gutenberg

We rode through the fine limestone gorge behind the fort, shooting on the way several Tibetan partridge (Perdrix hodgsoni).

From Project Gutenberg

The Tibetan is always hospitable and will provide sheep, milk, cheese and butter almost everywhere.

From Project Gutenberg

Friendly relations had been established with the Tibetan officials and people wherever we went.

From Project Gutenberg

They sent a few years ago some young Tibetan boys to Rugby to be educated in different professions.

From Project Gutenberg