Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1580s
Typhoon
from tái-fēng (Mandarin — "big wind")
- Meaning
- A severe tropical cyclone.
- Source word
- tái-fēng (Mandarin — "big wind")
- Route into English
- Probably reinforced by Arabic *ṭūfān* and Greek *typhōn* (both meaning whirlwind); the Chinese source dominated once English encountered Pacific storms.
- Arrived
- 1580s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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