taipan
English
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˈtʌɪpan/
Etymology 1
From Cantonese 大班 (daai⁶ baan¹, “big shot, rich businessman”), originally as taepan.[1] Related to tycoon, from Japanese 大君 (taikun) – the first half of both comes from the Chinese root 大 (“big, great”).
Alternative forms
- taepan (historical)
- tai-pan
- typan (historical)
Noun
taipan (plural taipans)
- A foreign businessman in China; a tycoon. [from 19th c.]
- 1922, W. Somerset Maugham, "The Taipan":
- Of course it was very sad, but the taipan could hardly help a smile when he thought how many of these young fellows he had drunk underground.
- 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy, Folio Society 2010, p. 438:
- The British taipans stood in one sodden circle with their womenfolk, like bored officers at a garrison get-together.
- 1922, W. Somerset Maugham, "The Taipan":
- (Philippines) A tycoon (usually of Chinese Filipino background)
Usage notes
Relatively narrow usage, and somewhat dated (early/mid 20th century); primarily known outside of China due to use in fiction set in Hong Kong, notably The Taipan (1922) by Somerset Maugham and Tai-Pan (1966) by James Clavell. Even in Hong Kong, the more globally widespread (and distantly related) tycoon is more common today.
Related terms
- tycoon
Etymology 2
From the name of the Thaypan tribe of Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia, or from Wik-Mungkan tay-pan[2] (or dhayban[3]).
Noun
taipan (plural taipans)
- Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea. [from 20th c.]
Derived terms
- Central Ranges taipan
- coastal taipan
- inland taipan
- Papuan taipan
Translations
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References
- “taipan”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989, →ISBN.
- "taipan" in The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition Unabridged, New York: Random House, Inc, 1987.
- "taipan" in Joan Hughes, editor, Australian Words and Their Origins, p. 570. Melbourne: Oxford University Press, 1989.
Anagrams
- Aptian, patina, pinata, piñata
Indonesian
Etymology
From Cantonese 大班 (daai6 baan1, “big shot, rich businessman”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈt̪ai̯pan]
- Hyphenation: tai‧pan
Noun
taipan (plural taipan-taipan, first-person possessive taipanku, second-person possessive taipanmu, third-person possessive taipannya)
- taipan, tycoon: A wealthy and powerful business person.
- Synonyms: konglomerat, taiko
Further reading
- “taipan” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Language Development and Fostering Agency — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.
Portuguese
Noun
taipan f (plural taipans)
- taipan (venomous snake of the genus Oxyuranus)