towkay

English

Etymology

From Hokkien 頭家 / 头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”). Doublet of taoke.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/, /ˈt̪ʰau̯.keɪ/

Noun

towkay (plural towkays)

1. (Malaysia, Singapore) A business owner; boss (especially a Chinese Malaysian or Chinese Singaporean boss).
   • 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 a business owner boss.

   Synonyms: taoke (Philippines), boss, sir, ma'am

Translations

business owner

• Chinese:

  Hokkien: 頭家 / 头家 (zh-min-nan) (thâu-ke)

  Mandarin: 老板 (zh) (lǎobǎn)

• Indonesian: tauke (id)
• Malay: tokeh / tauke (ms)
• Tagalog: taoke
• Tausug: tawki
• Thai: เถ้าแก่ (th) (tâo-gɛ̀ɛ)

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

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.