Amoy

A1M3O1Y4
/əˈmɔɪ//ɑˈmɔɪ//æˈmɔɪ//ˈæmɔɪ/

proper noun

Former name of Xiamen: a prefecture-level city and subprovincial city of Fujian, in southeastern China.

Similar
MinMin dialectFukienFukkianeseHokkianeseTaiwaneseAmoy languageFukkianese language
UncommonScrabble 9

Meanings

proper noun
  1. datedFormer name of Xiamen: a prefecture-level city and subprovincial city of Fujian, in southeastern China.

    He told me of a place on the mainland, near his native village—some seventy miles up the coast, between Foochow and Amoy—where game was plentiful, and sportsmen rare.

    1896, Charles J. H Halcombee, The Mystic Flowery Land: A Personal Narrative, London: Luzac & Co., page 110
    5 more examples

    Near the Coaſt of the Province of Fokien lie Quemuy and Eymuy : Further off at Sea, oppoſite to them, appear Formoſa and Tayowan ; the firſt by the Chineſes, who now poſſeſs it, call'd Talieukich ; but to the Eaſt, near the Province Chekiang are the Iſles Changque and Chenxan.

    [1671, Arnoldus Montanus, translated by John Ogilby, Atlas Chinensis, London: Tho. Johnson, translation of original in Dutch, →OCLC, page 468

    Passing one or two headlands to the northeastward of this place, we reach the harbor of Amoy, as pronounced by the natives, or, as more generally pronounced Heämun. This harbor is in the southwestern corner of a considerable bay, in which are two large and many smaller islands. The largest and westernmost island, named Amoy, forms the northern limit of the harbor, which is sheltered on the east by the smaller of the two principal islands, while the mainland shelters is on the west and south. The town of Amoy is situated at the south end of the larger island, and the anchorage for ships is immediately in front of it.

    1837 May, “Coast of China: the division of it into four portions ; brief description of the principal places on the southeastern, eastern, and northeastern portions.”, in The Chinese Repository, volume VI, number 1, Canton, →OCLC, page 12

    Leaving Namoa, and sailing up the coast towards Amoy, the stranger is continually struck with the barren rocky nature of the coast, and in some parts has a view of hills of sand, the particles of which, when a hurricane blows, mix with the wind, and whiten the ropes of vessels and render it most unpleasant to be in the vicinity.

    1847, Robert Fortune, Three Years' Wanderings in the Northern Provinces of China: Including a Visit to the Tea, Silk, and Cotton Countries; with an Account of the Agriculture and Horticulture of the Chinese, New Plants, Etc., 2nd edition, John Murray, Albemarle Street, pages 23–24

    The tea grown in the southern Fukien hills goes out through Amoy; in a shallow bay on one side of town there stand out of the mud at low tide hundreds of upright granite blocks like Western tombstones, on which oysters are grown. But the only unique industry Amoy and its island seem to boast is the making of toy cats, dogs, lions, tigers, and even more fearsome beasts from mud gaudily painted, the heads and tails so balanced that they wag gravely back and forth.

    1925, Harry A. Franck, Roving Through Southern China, The Century Company, →OCLC, page 198

    The Merope stopped at Namoa, an island off the coast of Kwangtung and Fukien, where some small sales were made, and then, proceeding to Amoy, attempted to open trade relations there.

    1934, David Edward Owen, British Opium Policy in China and India, Yale University Press, →OCLC, page 122; republished Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1968
  2. The Amoy dialect of the Hokkien language.
  3. datedThe Hokkien language.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounany of the forms of Chinese spoken in Fukien province

Similar
MinMin dialectFukienFukkianeseHokkianeseTaiwaneseAmoy languageFukkianese languageHokkianese languageTaiwanese languageFukien languageMin language
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Hokkien廈門 /厦门
  2. EnglishAmoy

From the Postal Romanization of Hokkien 廈門 /厦门 (Ēe-mûi), specifically the Zhangzhou Hokkien dialect. Compare Spanish Emuy.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Cantonese 廈門話 /厦门话
  • 廈門話 /厦门话a Chinese lect
Chinese Mandarin 廈門話 /厦门话
  • 廈門話 /厦门话 (xiàmén huà)a Chinese lect
Japanese アモイ語
  • アモイ語 (Amoi-go)a Chinese lect
Korean 샤먼어
  • 샤먼어 (Syameon-eo)a Chinese lect

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with Amoy

All rhymes →

Anagrams

Cite this entry
APA

Amoy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Amoy

MLA

“Amoy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Amoy. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Amoy,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Amoy.

Source: Amoy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.