Phrase guide
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
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noun
A wealthy woman who lives a life of leisure.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Hong-Kong, Malaysia, Singapore
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
History
Borrowed from Mandarin 太太 (tàitai, literally “great-great”), originally a high-ranking honorific title for the wives of officials during the Ming dynasty, later generalising to "madam", "Mrs.", or "wife" in modern Mandarin. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Hong Kong English, the term underwent a semantic shift to specifically denote a wealthy married woman who enjoys a life of conspicuous leisure.
