towkay

English

Etymology

From Malay tauke, from Hokkien 頭家 / 头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtaʊkeɪ/

Noun

towkay (plural towkays)

1. (Malaysia, Singapore) A business owner; boss (especially a Malaysian Chinese or a Singaporean Chinese).
   • 1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 352:

     My own experience would lead me to suggest that the Chinese immigrants should be placed under one Towkay, or head man, who would control those villages under his care.

2. (Malaysia, Singapore) Term of address for such a person; sir.

Translations

business owner

• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 头家 (thâu-ke)

• Indonesian: tauke (id)
• Malay: tokeh / tauke (ms)

term of address

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• French: ^{(please verify)} chef (fr) m
• Mandarin: ^{(please verify)} 老板 (zh) (lǎobǎn), ^{(please verify)} 雇主 (gùzhǔ)

References

• The Oxford English Dictionary just attributes a Malay origin, but the Collins English Dictionary (2009) states it's of Chinese origin.
• Lee Eng Kew (李永球), 2004, “誰是“頭家”？” (Who are the towkays), Sin Chew Daily.