taiwan
n. uncountablen. an island nation in East Asia. It is known for its modern cities, beautiful mountains, and high-tech industry.
n. a self-governing island state in East Asia, situated off the southeastern coast of mainland China. While its political status is a subject of international sensitivity, it functions as a sovereign democracy with its own government and currency.
Many people travel to Taiwan to enjoy the famous night markets.
The electronics company moved its main manufacturing plant to Taiwan to take advantage of the skilled workforce there.
The geopolitical situation surrounding Taiwan remains a central focus of international relations in the Pacific, influencing trade policies and military alliances across the region.
The specific form "Taiwan" in English emerged from the Wade–Giles Tʻai²-wan¹ romanization of Mandarin 臺灣／台湾 (Táiwān), and also perhaps the romaji of Japanese 臺灣(たいわん) (taiwan), both of which are ultimately from Literary Chinese 臺灣, from Hokkien 大員 (Tāi-oân), 大圓, 臺員, 大灣, 臺灣, and other forms, a placename initially referring to a sandbank peninsula that later silted up; now wholly part of the island in the area of modern-day Anping District, Tainan, and eventually became the name of the entire island. The original placename itself was originally likely the transcription of a loanword from Siraya. Cognate with Dutch Tayouan / Taioan / Taiwan / etc., and other early variant forms of Hokkien 臺窩灣 /台窝湾 (Tâi-o-oân), etc. The name is sometimes folk-etymologized to have originally meant "terraced bay" (臺灣 /台湾), "great bay" (大灣 /大湾), or similar parsings from interpretations of the Chinese characters alone.
Proper noun; typically used without an article unless referring to the 'Taiwanese government' or 'the island of Taiwan'.