katakana
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ka·ta·ka·na
(kä′tä-kä′nä)n.
A relatively angular kana used especially to write foreign words, onomatopoetic words, and the names of plants and animals in Japanese.
[Japanese : kata, one + kana, kana; see kana.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
katakana
(ˌkɑːtəˈkɑːnə)n
(Linguistics) one of the two systems of syllabic writing employed for the representation of Japanese, based on Chinese ideograms. It is used mainly for foreign or foreign-derived words
[Japanese, from kata side + kana]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
ka•ta•ka•na
(ˌkɑ təˈkɑ nə)n.
the more angular, less commonly used of the two Japanese syllabaries. Compare hiragana.
[1720–30]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.