Where does “Taiwanese” come from?
Taiwanese comes from English Taiwan, from Chinese 臺灣, from Old French -eis, from Latin -ensis (a suffix meaning "of or belonging to"), from Latin en-, from Latin in-, from Latin in, from Proto-Indo-European ne.
Taiwanese (English): Of or pertaining to Taiwan; A person from Taiwan
Definitions
- Of or pertaining to Taiwan; A person from Taiwan
Ancestry of “Taiwanese”, step by step
Taiwanese traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via French Taïwanais
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | Taïwanais | Taiwanese |
| 2 | French | -ais | The first-person and second-person singular... |
| 3 | Italian | -ese | ese (both senses); -er |
| 4 | Latin | -ēnsem | — |
via English Taiwan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Taiwan | 2169 Taiwan, a main belt asteroid |
| 2 | Chinese Mandarin | 臺灣 | — |
| 3 | Hokkien | 臺灣 | — |
via Italian Taiwan
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italian | Taiwan | — |