Thai, n. and a.
(taɪ)
Also 9 T'hai, Thay, T'hay.
[Native name, meaning ‘free’: the same word as Tai n.2 and a.]
(Occasionally used where Tai n.2 and a. might be expected.)
A. n. a. The language of the Thai people, a member of the Tai group of languages; Siamese.
| 1808 Asiatick Res. X. 173 The more ancient eastern languages, are Jawa, B{uacu}g{iacu}s, T'hay, and Barma. 1880 A. H. Sayce Introd. Sci. Lang. II. viii. 224 In Siamese or T'hai every word which defines another must follow it. 1963 Time & Tide 2 May 23/2 HRH Prince Chula-Chakrabongse of Thailand..has written more than 30 books in Thai and English. 1972 E. A. Nida Bk. Thousand Tongues (ed. 2) 427/1 Thai and related languages are linguistically grouped in a class known as the Tai languages, a class that comprises tongues spoken by at least 40 million people, from Burma to south-eastern China. 1977 Times 15 June 16/6 McGonagall..had just had his prolific collection of bizarre poems translated into Russian, Chinese, Japanese and..Thai. |
b. A native or inhabitant of Thailand (called Siam before 1939 and again briefly between 1945 and 1948); a member of the ethnic group that constitutes the bulk of the population of Thailand. Also, the Thais collectively.
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 452/1 The Siamese call themselves Thay. 1939 Times 30 May 11/3 Muang-Thai is the name by which the dominant element in the country, the Thai, call their land... The newcomers amalgamated with their Lao and Thai kinsmen. 1941 Engineer 15 Aug. 99/1 The Thais have always been agriculturists. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XX. 593B/1 Of the total population [of Siam] the great majority (about 75%–80%) belongs to the Thai group of peoples. These may be divided into the southern Thai or Siamese and the northern Thai or Lao. 1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) lxxxv. 681 Cambodians, like the people of Thailand and Upper Burma, are mixed descendants of the same stock as the Thai and other minority peoples of China. 1978 T. Williamson Technicians of Death xi. 90 He was operating his own ship..with a mixed crew of Thais and Filipinos. |
B. adj. Of or pertaining to Thailand, its people, or its language; Thai silk, wild silk woven in Thailand according to traditional designs, often with bright colours; Thai stick [cf. stick n.1 11 h], a marijuana cigarette.
| 1808 [see Siamese n. 2]. 1939 Times 5 July 15/7 The Siamese Legation, now officially renamed the Thai Legation, issued the following announcement yesterday:–..The word ‘Thailand’ for ‘Siam’ and the word ‘Thai’ for ‘Siamese’ will be used from now on by the Ministries and Departments of the Thai Government. 1948 D. Diringer Alphabet ii. vii. 413 The thirteenth century witnessed a general advance of the Thai or Shan race, facilitated by the fall of Pagan dynasty. 1955 Times 9 May 8/4 The many millions of people of Thai race considered linguistically and ethnologically now scattered across south-west China, north Viet Nam, and Burma are split into different groups, and in many cases the split dates back for hundreds of years. 1958 A. Toynbee East to West xxviii. 85 A skiff will carry the Thai housewife to a shop-front that could not be reached on foot. 1976 National Observer (U.S.) 25 Sept. 22/2 Cannabis connoisseurs rank Colombian marijuana alongside such Asian types as so-called Thai-sticks from Thailand. 1977 Times 17 May 8/1 (Advt.), Our beautiful slim-bodied hostesses in their glamorous Thai silk outfits. 1978 Chicago June 245/1 Tom yum gung soup..is almost a meal in itself as is Thai fried rice, a combination of green peppers, chicken, and tiny bits of bacon, garnished with cucumber and tomato slices. 1978 [see stick n.1 11 h]. 1981 Times 22 Apr. 4/3 He had made..money through smuggling Thai sticks. |