towkay

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towkay

/ˈt̪au̯.keɪ/
/ˈt̪ʰau̯.keɪ/

Where it comes from

From Hokkien 頭家 /头家 (thâu-ke, “boss”). Doublet of taoke.

noun towkays

Malaysia, Singapore A business owner; boss (especially a Chinese Malaysian or Chinese Singaporean boss). My own experience would lead me to suggest that the Chinese immigrants should be placed under one Towkay, or head man, who would control those villages under his care.
Malaysia, Singapore Term of address for a business owner boss.
Similar: taoke, boss, sir, ma'am

Translations

Every language

noun business owner

中文	老板 lǎobǎn

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Cite this

MLA

"towkay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/towkay. Accessed 7 Nov. 2026.

APA

towkay. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 7, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/towkay

Chicago

"towkay." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 7, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/towkay.

BibTeX

@misc{towkay_2026,
  title = {towkay},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/towkay},
  urldate = {2026-11-07}
}