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shanghai

Etymology and origin of the English word shanghai

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Eponym
First attested
1854
Ultimate origin
Chinese (上海)

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/, /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/ (UK); /ˈʃæŋ.haɪ/, /ʃæŋˈhaɪ/ (US)[1]

Etymology

It is named after Shanghai, the Chinese seaport, literally by the sea, from shang, on, above, and hai, sea,[2][3][4] from the former practice of kidnapping men to crew ships on long voyages, such as those to Shanghai and the East.[3][2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

To drug or otherwise make a man unconscious and ship him as a sailor: 1854 in Etymonline, 1871 in Barnhart, the OED and Merriam-Webster, originally American nautical slang.[2][3][6][5]

Semantic evolution

The transferred sense, to force or compel, to abduct, is by 1919.[2][6] In the mid-19th century Shanghai was also the name of a long-legged breed of hens in great vogue, supposed to come from there (1853),[2][6] hence old American slang senses for long, tall people or things.[2] In Australia and New Zealand a shanghai is a catapult (1863), probably an alteration of Scots shangan, a cleft stick,[6][7][5] and to shanghai is to shoot with one.[8]

Timeline

  • 1853 – Shanghai fowl.[6]
  • 1854 – to kidnap a sailor.[2]
  • 1863 – a catapult (Australia).[6]
  • 1919 – to compel.[2]

Modern meaning

Verb

  1. To kidnap someone for service as a sailor, especially after drugging him.
  2. To force or trick someone into doing something.
  3. (Australia, New Zealand) To shoot with a catapult.

Noun

  1. (Australia, New Zealand) A catapult.

Word family

  • shanghaier

References

  1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Shanghai.” Etymologically, 17 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/shanghai. Accessed 17 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·