Etymology

taipan

T1A1I1P3A1N1

Today it means: Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea. Full definition →

First used 20th c.Wik-Mungkan tay-pan
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taipan · noun1

  1. Wik-Mungkan · borrowed fromtay-pan
  2. English todaytaipan

From Wik-Mungkan tay-pan (or dhayban).

taipan · noun2

  1. Cantonese · derived from大班“big shot, rich businessman”
  2. English todaytaipan

From Cantonese 大班 (daai⁶ baan¹, “big shot, rich businessman”), originally as taepan. Related to tycoon, from Japanese 大君(たいくん) (taikun).

First known use, by meaning

  • from 20th c. Any venomous elapid snake of the genus Oxyuranus, found in Australia and New Guinea.
  • from 19th c. A foreign businessman in China; a tycoon.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.