taipan
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology 1
From the name of the Thaypan tribe of Aboriginal people of central Cape York Peninsula, Queensland, Australia.
[edit] Noun
taipan (plural taipans)
- any of a venomous species of snake, of the family Elapidae, found in Australia and New Guinea
[edit] Derived terms
[edit] Etymology 2
From Mandarin 大班 (dàbān, “big shot, rich businessman”)
[edit] Noun
taipan (plural taipans)
- a foreign businessman in China; a tycoon
- 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.
- 1922, W. Somerset Maugham, "The Taipan"
