Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1880s
Tong
from 堂 (táng)
- Meaning
- A Chinese association or secret society, especially in North American cities.
- Source word
- 堂 (táng)
- Route into English
- Mandarin *táng* (hall, gathering place) → English via 19th-century San Francisco and New York Chinatown fraternities. The English word picked up a darker "criminal society" connotation by the 1890s.
- Arrived
- 1880s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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