Takau

English

Map of Taiwan including Takau (1880)

Alternative forms

• Takow
• Takou
• Takao
• Dagou

Etymology

Borrowed from Hokkien, specifically Taiwanese Hokkien 打狗 (Tá-káu), from Siraya takau (“bamboo forest”).

Proper noun

Takau

1. Synonym of Kaohsiung
   • 1894 August 8, “Japanese Mob”, in The Climax‎^[1], volume VIII, number 9, Richmond, KY, page 1:

     A Chinese mob in Takau insulted the members of the Japanese legation as they were returning from Peking. The mob's action led to a tumult which was tardily suppressed by the authorities.

   • 1902, Archibald Ross Colquhoun, The Mastery of the Pacific‎^[2], Macmillan Company, page 385:

     After the war between Great Britain and China, which culminated in 1860 in the Treat of Tientsin, two Formosan ports, Takau and Tamsui, were thrown open to foreign trade in accordance with provisions in that treaty, and British subjects and missionaries were to be allowed safe-conducts in the island.

   • 2015, 萌咩誌, “推特瘋傳到日本！超稀有「艦娘」塗裝痛卡車出沒南台灣”, in ETtoday新聞雲‎^[3]:

     原來「高雄」這名字本來是源自於京都右京區的高雄山（TAKAO），這是個很著名的賞楓勝地，有機會去京都遊覽的萌友不妨走一趟唷。而台灣南部的高雄，其實名字正是來自於此。馬卡道族昔稱這個地區為「打狗（TAKAU）」，到了日治時期，日本人利用日語諧音來稱呼此地，改寫作文雅許多的漢字「高雄（TAKAO）」，一直到二戰後，高雄市才使用中文威妥瑪式拼音將通行名稱改為中文發音的「Kaohsiung」，也就是我們現在習慣的用法了。

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• “Takau” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2024.

Anagrams

• Aktau