Formosa
Synonym of Taiwan: an island of East AsiaSynonym of Taiwan: an island of East Asia.
» Taiwan's main island was historically known as Formosa.
Meaning
12 senses(dated)Synonym of Taiwan: an island of East Asia.
Synonym of Taiwan: an administrative division including Formosa and nearby islands.
(historical)A prefecture of Fujian, China (Qing Empire) (1683–1885).
(historical)A province of China (Qing Empire) (1885–1895).
(historical)A dependency of Japan (1895–1945).
(dated)A province of Taiwan (Republic of China) (from 1945).
(dated)A claimed province of China (People's Republic of China or mainland China) (from 1949).
A city in Goiás, Brazil.
An island of the Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau.
A city in northern Argentina.
A department of Argentina around the city.
A province of Argentina around the city.
A surname from Maltese.
Examples
1 sentencesTaiwan's main island was historically known as Formosa.
Translations
1 languagesOrigin
From Portuguese Formosa, as in Ilha Formosa (literally “Beautiful Island”) and Vila FormosFrom Portuguese Formosa, as in Ilha Formosa (literally “Beautiful Island”) and Vila Formosa da Imperatriz (literally “Beautiful Town of the Empress”), from formosa (“beautiful, shapely”), from Latin fōrmōsus (“beautiful, well-formed”), from fōrma (“shape”) + -ōsus (“-ful”), literally “shapeful”.
From Spanish Formosa, from Vuelta la Formosa and Vuelta Fermosa (“Beautiful Turn”) in reference to a bend in the Paraguay River near the city, from Old Spanish fermosa, from Latin formosa.
Borrowed from Maltese Formosa.
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