taikonaut

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Contents

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

The term was coined on 19 May 1998 by Chiew Lee Yih (赵里昱) from Malaysia, who used it first in newsgroups. Almost simultaneously, Chen Lan coined it for use in the Western media based on Mandarin tàikōng (太空), space. (Source: Mail & Guardian) This follows the pattern established by the terms astronaut and cosmonaut for having different terms for space workers denoting country of origin.

[edit] Noun

Singular
taikonaut

Plural
taikonauts

taikonaut (plural taikonauts)

  1. A person who travels in space for the Chinese space program; a Chinese astronaut.
    • 2003, Peter Schwartz, Inevitable Surprises, p x.
      The past decade has seen remarkable events and changes: ... The Columbia disaster and a Chinese taikonaut in orbit

[edit] External links

"Taikonaut" at Word Spy: http://www.wordspy.com/words/taikonaut.asp

[edit] Synonyms

[edit] Related terms

[edit] Translations

Chinese astronaut
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