Zayton

English

Alternative forms

• Zeitoun, Zaitun, Zaytun, Zaytoun, Zeytoun

Etymology

From Arabic زَيْتُون (zaytūn, “olive”), derived from Quanzhou's former Chinese nickname 刺桐城 (Cìtóngchéng, “Tung Tree City”), after the trees which had been extensively planted there in the 10th century by Liu Congxiao.

Proper noun

Zayton

1. (historical) A major but poorly known medieval port of Fujian in China, variously intending Quanzhou and Zhangzhou in different sources.