2. Noun. A Japanese syllabary used when writing words borrowed from foreign languages other than Chinese, specific names of plants and animals and other jargon, or to emphasize a word or phrase. ¹
3. Noun. A letter thereof ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Katakana
1. a Japanese syllabic symbol [n -S]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Katakana
Literary usage of Katakana
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan for by Basil Hall Chamberlain (1902)
"The following tables of the katakana and Hiragana will help to make this clear.
... THE katakana SYLLABARY. THE Hiragana SYLLABARY. f ro ha ni ho . he chi ..."
2. The Reading Process by William Anton Smith (1922)
"And by the close of the ninth century they had actually evolved two syllabaries—the
katakana and the Hiragana—their colloquial having been resolved into 47 ..."
3. The Edinburgh Review by Sydney Smith (1881)
"The alphabet given by Ballhorn is in the katakana character, and the type used
was cut ... A katakana syllabary is also engraved by M. Humbert (vol. ii. p. ..."