a kingdom in SE Asia, on the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand: united as a kingdom in 1350 and became a major SE Asian power; consists chiefly of a central plain around the Chao Phraya river system, mountains rising over 2400 m (8000 ft) in the northwest, and rainforest the length of the S peninsula. Parts of the SW coast suffered badly in the Indian Ocean tsunami of December 2004. Official language: Thai. Official religion: (Hinayana) Buddhist. Currency: baht. Capital: Bangkok. Pop: 69 037 513 (2017 est). Area: 513 998 sq km (198 455 sq miles)
Former name (until 1939 and 1945–49): Siam
2. Gulf of Thailand
Thailand in American English
(ˈtaɪˌlænd; also ˈtaɪlənd)
1.
country in Southeast Asia, on the Indochinese & Malay peninsulas: 198,114 sq mi (513,113 sq km); pop. 54,532,000; cap. Bangkok
abbrev. Thai
2.
Gulf ofarm of the South China Sea, between the Malay & Indochinese peninsulas