towkay

English

Etymology

From Malay tauke, from Min Nan 頭家／头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaʊkeɪ/

Noun

towkay (plural towkays)

1. (Malaysia) A business owner; boss (especially a Malaysian Chinese).
2. (Malaysia) Term of address for such a person; sir.

Translations

business owner

• Chinese:

  Min Nan: 头家 (thâu-ke)

• Indonesian: tauke (id)
• Malay: tokeh / tauke (ms)

term of address

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} chef (fr) m

• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 老板 (zh), ^{(please verify)} 雇主 (zh)

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary just attributes a Malay origin, but the Collins English Dictionary (2009) states it's of Chinese origin.
• Lee Eng Kew (李永球), 2004, “誰是“頭家”？” (Who are the towkays), Sin Chew Daily.