Etymology

TDK

T1D2K5

Today it means: a mainlander from mainland China; mainland Chinese (to differentiate from a Chinese Filipino raised in the Philippines or other Overseas Chinese). Full definition →

Japanese TDK
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TDK · proper noun1

  1. Japanese · borrowed fromTDK
  2. English todayTDK

From Japanese TDK, an initialism of 東京電気化学 (Tokyo Denki Kagaku, “Tokyo Electric Chemical”) of 東京電気化学工業株式会社 (Tokyo Denki Kagaku Kabushiki gaisha, “Tokyo Electric Chemical Industry Limited”).

TDK · noun2

  1. Hokkien · borrowed from大陸仔 /大陆仔“mainlander”
  2. English todayTDK

Initialism of Philippine Hokkien 大陸仔 /大陆仔 (tāi-lio̍k-á, “mainlander”), which is often perceived as "Tai Diok Ka" or "Tai Diok A", due to /l~d/ allophony usually preceding an /i/ vowel and the concept of forming initialisms from the consonant-sounding phonemes that syllables seemingly sound like they start with due to syllable assimilation in Hokkien. See also Taiwanese Mandarin 26.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.