Meanings
nounlaodah (plural laodahs)
plural laodahs · alternative laoda · alternative lowda · alternative lowdah
- obsoleteChinese boat captain.
“I sent our compradore to find a junk, and make arrangements for your passage. He came back a few minutes ago, and said he had settled it with the lowdah (captain) of a junk that was just getting up anchor for Hong-Kong.
1889 November, Thomas W. Knox, “The Talking Handkerchief”, in Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, volume LXXIX, number CCCCLXXIV, New York: Harper & Brothers, publishers, page 936
Origin
- Mandarin老大
- Englishlaodah
Borrowed from Mandarin 老大 (lǎodà).
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Cite this entry
APA
laodah. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laodah
MLA
“laodah.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laodah. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “laodah,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/laodah.
Source: laodah on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.