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 starry voice cast includes Eric Bana as the zookeeper, Isla Fisher as a taipan, Tim Minchin as a koala, Guy Pearce as a funnel web spider and Keith Urban as a cane toad.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 6, 2021

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 • Feb. 20, 2021

The hospital ward, which might be treating as many as eight taipan victims at any time, is often the only place in the country with antivenom drugs.

From Nature • Aug. 29, 2016

A rattlesnake A brown water snake A taipan Which of the following is reported to be suing the FBI, after their fans, the Juggalos, were said to have been labelled as a criminal gang?

From BBC • Sep. 28, 2012

“The blue-ringed octopus, the marbled cone snail, the inland taipan snake, and...uh...the deathstalker scorpion.”

From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman