Formosan
adj, noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An inhabitant, resident, or a person of descent from Formosa.
"From his base at Amoy the Emperor Kanghi dispatched a fleet of 600 junks against Formosa. In two naval battles, on July 1 and 7, 1683, they defeated the Formosans, and occupied Penghu, one of the Pescadores Islands, forming the key of Taiwan."
- 2 the Austronesian languages spoken on Formosa wordnet
- 1 Of or relating to Formosa or people of Formosa. not-comparable
"The great Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier, also spent some time at Öita, and Otomo, its lord, was the first Daimio to embrace Christianity. Still farther south, and in line with these, stretches the chain of the Liuchiu islands, the westernmost of the group lying within 50 miles of the Formosan coast."
- 1 of or relating to or characteristic of the island republic on Taiwan or its residents or their language wordnet
Example
More examples"The great Jesuit missionary, St. Francis Xavier, also spent some time at Öita, and Otomo, its lord, was the first Daimio to embrace Christianity. Still farther south, and in line with these, stretches the chain of the Liuchiu islands, the westernmost of the group lying within 50 miles of the Formosan coast."
Etymology
From Formosa + -an.
Related phrases
More for "formosan"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.