Etymology

Taipei

Tai·pei
T1A1I1P3E1I1

Today it means: The capital city of and a special municipality of Taiwan, located in the northern part of the island of Taiwan. Full definition →

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The story

19th c., from Wade–Giles romanization of Mandarin 臺北／台北 (Tʻai²-pei³, literally “Taiwan north”), composed of 臺／台 (tái) (short for Taiwan) and 北 (běi, “north”).

First known use, by meaning

  • from late 19th c. The capital city of and a special municipality of Taiwan, located in the northern part of the island of Taiwan.
  • from 20th c. A former county of Taiwan, which became New Taipei City.
  • from 20th c. The government of the Republic of China (Taiwan).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.