Sangley
noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person of pure ethnic Chinese ancestry (especially during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines) Philippines, historical
"There were also in this city certain Sangleyes who had settled down there to sell their merchandise, so that they remained there from one year to another."
- 2 Alternative form of Sangley. alt-of, alternative
"The steersmen were killed on two of the bancas; the bancas, turning broadside to the current, were soon capsized, and the river became a mass of frenzied sangleys fighting for their lives in the treacherous waters."
Example
More examples"There were also in this city certain Sangleyes who had settled down there to sell their merchandise, so that they remained there from one year to another."
Etymology
From Philippine Spanish Sangley, ultimately from Hokkien.
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.