1617.—"And there was rec. out of the Adviz, viz. ... 7 hhds. drugs cacha; 5 hampers pochok" (see [PUTCHOCK]).—Cocks's Diary, i. 294.
1759.—"Hortal [see [HURTAUL]] and Cotch, Earth-oil, and Wood-oil."—List of Burma Products in Dalrymple, Oriental Repert. i. 109.
c. 1760.—"To these three articles (betel, areca, and chunam) is often added for luxury what they call cachoonda, a Japan-earth, which from perfumes and other mixtures, chiefly manufactured at Goa, receives such improvement as to be sold to advantage when re-imported to Japan.... Another addition too they use of what they call Catchoo, being a blackish granulated perfumed composition...."—Grose, i. 238.
1813.—"... The peasants manufacture catechu, or terra Japonica, from the Keiri [khair] tree (Mimosa catechu) which grows wild on the hills of Kankana, but in no other part of the Indian Peninsula" [erroneous].—Forbes, Or. Mem. i. 303; [2nd ed. i. 193].
CATHAY, n.p. China; originally Northern China. The origin of the name is given in the quotation below from the Introduction to Marco Polo. In the 16th century, and even later, from a misunderstanding of the medieval travellers, Cathay was supposed to be a country north of China, and is so represented in many maps. Its identity with China was fully recognised by P. Martin Martini in his Atlas Sinensis; also by Valentijn, iv. China, 2.
1247.—"Kitai autem ... homines sunt pagani, qui habent literam specialem ... homines benigni et humani satis esse videantur. Barbam non habent, et in dispositione faciei satis concordant cum Mongalis, non tamen sunt in facie ita lati ... meliores artifices non inveniuntur in toto mundo ... terra eorum est opulenta valde."—J. de Plano Carpini, Hist. Mongalorum, 653-4.
1253.—"Ultra est magna Cataya, qui antiquitus, ut credo, dicebantur Seres.... Isti Catai sunt parvi homines, loquendo multum aspirantes per nares et ... habent parvam aperturam oculorum," &c.—Itin. Wilhelmi de Rubruk, 291-2.
c. 1330.—"Cathay is a very great Empire, which extendeth over more than c. days' journey, and it hath only one lord...."—Friar Jordanus, p. 54.
1404.—"E lo mas alxofar [see [ALJOFAR]] que en el mundo se ha, se pesia e falla en aq̃l mar del Catay."—Clavijo, f. 32.
1555.—"The Yndians called Catheies have eche man many wiues."—Watreman, Fardle of Faciouns, M. ii.