Taiwanese
/ˌtaɪ.wəˈniːz/noun
Relating to Taiwan or its people, culture, or language; a person from Taiwan.
Did you know?Taiwan was also called Formosa—Portuguese for “beautiful”—after Portuguese sailors reportedly saw the island from the sea in the 16th century.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Antiquity
Latin
-ensis
“A suffix meaning “belonging to” or “from a place,” used in words for geographic origin.”
16th Century
Portuguese
Ilha Formosa
““Beautiful island,” the European name applied to Taiwan in Portuguese maritime accounts.”
16th–17th Century
Dutch
Tayouan / Tayowan
“Forms recorded by Dutch observers; probably derived from a local Indigenous place-name, though the precise source remains debated.”
17th Century
English
Taywan / Taiwan
“English forms of the island’s name, adapted from European and regional spellings.”
Modern English
English
Taiwanese
“Taiwan + -ese: “of or from Taiwan,” with -ese ultimately related to Latin -ensis through later European language formation.”