hoeyn.
A society of Chinese: esp. a secret society formed by them in English-speaking countries or colonies.
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society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [noun] > Chinese secret societies
Triad Society1821
hoey1865
tong1883
Triads1960
1865 Sat. Rev. 25 Mar. 351 The people [Chinese] from every province form a secret society or ‘hoey’, bound together by solemn oaths, and imposing the most implicit obedience on its members.
1882 H. de Windt On Equator 29 Members of a ‘Hue’, or Chinese secret society.
1883 Spectator 24 Nov. 1504/2 The terrible law making entrance into a Hoey or Secret Society a crime punishable with death.
1885 Cycl. India (ed. 3) II. 91 Hoe, a secret society of the Chinese into which the members are initiated.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.1865