Thain.adj.
/tʌɪ/, U.S. /taɪ/ (Occasionally used where Tai n.2 and adj. might be expected.)
A. n.
a. The language of the Thai people, a member of the Tai group of languages; Siamese.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > Austric > [noun] > Daic > Thai
Siamese1759
Thai1808
1808 Asiatick Researches 10 173 The more ancient eastern languages, are Jawa, Búgís, T'hay, and Barma.
1880 A. H. Sayce Introd. Sci. of 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 Bk. Thousand Tongues (Amer. Bible Soc.) (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.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of Burma or Thailand > [noun]
Siamite1601
Siamese1693
Siamer1697
Burman1800
Burmese1824
Thai1841
Thailander1961
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. 593 b/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 [compare stick n.1 19] , a marijuana cigarette.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > named regions of earth > East Indies > [adjective] > Thailand or the former Siam
Siamese1693
Thai1808
the world > people > nations > native or inhabitant of Asia > native or inhabitant of Burma or Thailand > [adjective]
Siamese1728
Thai1808
Burman1814
Burmese1823
the mind > language > languages of the world > Austric > [adjective] > Daic > of Daic languages
Shan1800
Thai1808
Ahom1834
Lao1882
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > a) narcotic drug(s) > marijuana or cannabis > cigarette
weed1917
stick1918
spliff1929
weed1929
reefer1931
joint1935
muggler1935
ju-ju1940
mezzroll1944
panatela1946
bomber1952
charge1957
bomb1960
number1963
doobie1967
smoke1967
cheeba1971
Thai stick1976
blunt1988
bifter1989
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > made from specific forms of silk fibre or thread > wild silk > specific
muga silk1624
pongee1711
Thai silk1977
1808 J. Leyden in Asiatick Researches 10 242 The T'hay language, or Siamese.
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 T. Williamson Technicians of Death xiv. 121 He got his first ‘buzz’ with a blend of Thai stick and opium.
1981 Times 22 Apr. 4/3 He had made..money through smuggling Thai sticks.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.adj.1808