Cochin-China

[koh-chin-chahy-nuh, koch-in-]

noun

a former state in S French Indochina: now part of Vietnam.

French Co·chin·chine

[kaw-shan-sheen] /kɔ ʃɛ̃ˈʃin/.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

British Dictionary definitions for cochin china

Cochin China

noun

a former French colony of Indochina (1862–1948): now the part of Vietnam that lies south of Phan Thiet

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cochin china

Cochin-china

old name of a region and French colony in southern Vietnam, from French Cochin-China, from Portuguese corruption of Ko-chen, of uncertain meaning; the China added to distinguish it from the town and port of Cochin in southwest India, the name of which is Tamil, perhaps from koncham "little," in reference to the river there.