towkay

English

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Malay tauke, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] 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)

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Malay: tokeh / tauke (ms)

term of address

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} chef (fr) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 老板 (zh) (lǎobǎn), ^{(please verify)} 雇主 (zh) (gùzhǔ)

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.