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Tonkin

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Tonkin¹

  • /ˈtɒŋkɪn/
  • /ˈtɒnkɪn/

Where it comes from

From a medieval diminutive form of the given name Thomas.

proper noun Tonkins

  1. A surname transferred from the given name.

Tonkin²

  • /ˈtɒŋkɪn/
  • /ˈtɒnkɪn/

Where it comes from

From French Tonkin, from Vietnamese Đông Kinh (“Hanoi; its former kingdom”), from đông (“east, eastern”) + kinh (“capital”), from Middle Chinese 東京 (tuwng kjaeng), q.v.

Cognate, through Middle Chinese, of Tokyo.

proper noun Tonquin · Tong-King

  1. archaic Synonym of Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam.

    Similar: Hanoi

  2. historical A former domain in northern Vietnam.

    Similar: Đàng Ngoài

  3. historical A former protectorate in northern Vietnam, a colony of France.

    Similar: Bắc Kỳ

  4. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of the Gulf of Tonkin: a gulf in northern Vietnam.
  5. abbreviation, ellipsis Ellipsis of Gulf of Tonkin incident, a 1964 event used to increase US involvement in the Vietnam War.

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MLA

"Tonkin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tonkin. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

Tonkin. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tonkin

Chicago

"Tonkin." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tonkin.

BibTeX
@misc{tonkin_2026,
  title = {Tonkin},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tonkin},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}