| 释义 |
Tai, n.2 and a.|taɪ|
Also T‘ai.
[Native name.]
A. n.
a. (A member of) a group of peoples of southeast Asia which includes the Lao, Shan, and Thai; also spec. = Thai n. b.
b. A group of languages including Thai (Siamese), Lao, Shan, and other languages of southeast Asia, regarded by some as belonging to the Sino-Tibetan family; also spec. = Thai n. a. Also Comb., as Tai Dam, Tai-Shan, Tai-Chinese adj. and n., Tai Yai.
1693A. P. tr. S. de la Loubère's New Hist. Relation Kingdom of Siam I. i. ii. 6 The Siameses give to themselves the name of Tai, or free, as the word now signifies in their language. 1798Asiatick Researches V. 227 The first dialect is that of the kingdom of Siam, the most polished people of eastern India. They called themselves to me simply Tai. 1811Ibid. X. 241 He divides them into two races, the Tai and the Tai Yai. 1837Jrnl. Asiatic Soc. Bengal VI. 18 The Ahom is a branch of the Tai language, which is spoken, with some variations, by the Khamtis, the Shyáns, the Láos, and the Siamese, all of whom designate themselves by the general appellation of Tai. Among the Ahoms, or the portion of the Tai race inhabiting Assám, the language is nearly extinct. Ibid., The sound of the French u..is..common in the Tai. 1844Chinese Repository XIII. 169 The inhabitants of this country are not called Siamese but T‘ai. 1887Tai-Shan [see Mon-Khmer]. 1902Census of India 1901 XII. viii. 119 We are..practically where we were ten years ago in respect of our acquaintance with the early beginnings of the Tai. 1934Webster, Tai-Chinese, adj. 1939L. H. Gray Foundations of Lang. 389 The group [sc. Sino-Tibetan] falls into three great divisions: Yenisei-Ostyak, Tibeto-Burman, and Tai-Chinese. Ibid. 390 The other members of the Tai-Chinese family are Si-lo-mo.., Karen.., and Tai, the latter sub-divided into south-eastern, eastern, and northern. To the south-eastern division belong Siamese, Lao, Lü, and Khün. 1948R. A. D. Forrest Chinese Lang. v. 100 There is evidence that T‘ai in an older phase used a system of prefixes and infixes in word formation. 1956J. Whatmough Language ii. 32 Note also Tai (Siamese). 1977Tai Dam [see the adj. below]. 1978Amer. Poetry Rev. Nov./Dec. 15/1 Judith Gautier's informant and lover was a Tai and often himself did not understand the Chinese.
B. adj. Of or pertaining to the Tai peoples or languages.
1837[see the n. above]. 1883A. P. Phayre Hist. Burma i. 12 People of the Tai race were..in the country of the..river..Sâlwin; and there is evidence of an irruption of that people into the country of the Irâwadi. 1892Census of India 1891 IX. viii. 167 The Tai language, of which there are numerous dialects, is essentially a Polytonic language. Ibid. 202 A great wave of Tai migration descended. 1902Census of India 1901 XII. viii. 119 The classification of the Tai races is a task of far greater magnitude than appeared when the last census was taken. 1933L. Bloomfield Language iv. 69 The second branch of Indo-Chinese is the Tai family, which includes Siamese. 1948R. A. D. Forrest Chinese Lang. v. 98 The T‘ai languages are remarkably uniform over their wide area. 1977New Yorker 5 Sept. 40/3 Of the three groups..the best off were the Tai Dam..members of a Tai racial group that had settled in China many years ago. |