taipan

¹ American  

[tahy-pan] / ˈtaɪ pæn /

noun

1. (in China) the head or owner of a foreign business establishment.

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taipan ² American  

[tahy-pan] / ˈtaɪ pæn /

noun

1. a highly venomous elapid snake, Oxyuranus scutellatus, of New Guinea and northern Australia, that grows to a length of from 10 to 12 feet (3.1 to 3.7 meters).

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taipan ¹ British  

/ ˈtaɪˌpæn /

noun

1. a large highly venomous elapid snake, Oxyuranus scutellatus, of NE Australia

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taipan ² British  

/ ˈtaɪˌpæn /

noun

1. the foreign head of a business in China

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Etymology

Origin of taipan¹

1895–1900; < dialectal Chinese (compare Guangdong dial. daaih-bāan ), akin to Chinese dàbǎn ( dà great + bǎn company, class)

Origin of taipan²

First recorded in 1930–35; from Wik-Munkan (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken around the Archer River, northern Queensland), recorded as tay-pan

Example Sentences

The research focused on elapids – one of the two families of venomous snakes – such as coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans and kraits.

From BBC

There are more than 400 species comprising a very diverse group of snakes such as mambas, cobras, kraits, taipans, tiger snakes, death adders, sea snakes and coral snakes.

From Science Daily

Brown snakes and taipans are active foragers that rapidly pursue their prey during the day.

From Scientific American

Mtoxins even helped researchers reclassify the world’s most venomous snake from the inland taipan - which Frank keeps in Oshkosh - to the Malaysian blue coral snake.

From Washington Times

The most toxic venom of any land snake is found in Australia's inland taipan.

From BBC