Formosa
/fɔːˈməʊ.sə/US/fɔɹˈmoʊ.sə/
Formosa proper noun: synonym of Taiwan: an island of East Asia.
Proper noun (1)
Formosa
- Synonym of Taiwan: an island of East Asia.
- Heere we had the higheſt Land of Formoſa, South-eaſt, the neereſt land about eight leagues off, the neather point of it Eaſt by North ten leagues off our depth, fortie ſixe fathomes ozie : the latitude twentie fiue degree twentie minutes. From the high Land of Formoſa, ſtretcheth out a lower Land...1625, Samuel Purchas, Pvrchas His Pilgrimes, volume I, London, →OCLC, page 652
- The Iſland Formoſa, or the fair Iſland doth alſo belong to this Province ; as likewiſe the near adjacent Iſland called Teiwan, which the Hollanders poſſeſs, who have built a Fort there called new Zealand.1669, John Nievhoff, translated by John Ogilby, An Embassy from the Eaſt-India Company of the United Provinces, to the Grand Tartar Cham Emperour of China, London: John Macock, →OCLC, page 16
- Synonyms:
- Taiwan
- A prefecture of Fujian, China (Qing Empire) (1683–1885).
- A province of China (Qing Empire) (1885–1895).
- A new broom is not more active for reform than this new governor-general is in the new province of Formosa.1887 April 6, “A Camphor Monopoly.”, in Oil, Paint and Drug Reporter, volume XXXI, number 14, →OCLC, page 56, column 1
- H. E. Li.—We can say in the Treaty "In respect to the province of Formosa, when the Treaty has been ratified and exchanged the two Governments shall draw up the conditions for the transfer."1895, Verbal Discussions During Peace Negotiations Between the Chinese Plenipotentiary, Viceroy Li Hung-chang and the Japanese Plenipotentiaries Count Ito and Viscount Mutsu, at Shimonoseki, Japan...
- A dependency of Japan (1895–1945).
- Except for the relatively unimportant Ryukyu Islands, which were acquired earlier, Formosa is Japan's oldest colony. She acquired it out of her war with China in 1894, and during recent years was believed to have fortified it heavily.1944 October 14, “Planes Over Formosa”, in The Washington Post, number 24,957, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 4, column 2
- A province of Taiwan (Republic of China) (from 1945).
- Economically, the island is already far better off (with massive American aid) than it would be if it were incorporated into Communist China, and it would be better off still (and less of a burden to the American taxpayer) if its people were not required to support two governments and two civil...1961 January 28, The Economist, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 330, column 2; republished as Current, March 1961, pages 22-23
- Government population policy has for the most part been notable for its absence, and few leading Nationalists have publicly admitted the problem. Indeed, in 1959, in an interview with a western correspondent, Chou Chih-jou, then Governor of Formosa (province), complained that population growth was...1963, Sheppard Glass, “Some Aspects of Formosa's Economic Growth”, in Mark Mancall, editor, Formosa Today, Frederick A. Praeger, published 1964, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 80
- A claimed province of China (People's Republic of China or mainland China) (from 1949).
- If we should propose an exchange of ambassadors, Mao Tse-tung would surely ask if our recognition extended to Communist sovereignty over the 'Province of Formosa.'1961, Robert P. Newman, “Will China Accept United States Recognition?”, in Recognition of Communist China? A Study in Argument, New York: The Macmillan Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 237
- The armed forces of China have struck the rebellious province of Formosa with force. We demand your immediate and unconditional surrender. Failure to comply with this order will warrant further action by our forces.1998, Caspar Weinberger, Peter Schweizer, chapter 5, in The Next War (Current Affairs), Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 52
- A city in Goiás, Brazil.
- An island of the Bissagos Islands, Guinea-Bissau.
Proper noun (2)
Formosa
Proper noun (3)
Formosa (plural Formosas)
- A surname from Maltese.
Formosa meaning in Hindi
Formosa in Hindi
- Argentinian city, department, and province
- फ़ोर्मोसा formosā
Examples of Formosa in a sentence
- From the high Land of Formoſa, ſtretcheth out a lower Land to the water-ſide, being a white ſandy ſhoare, and ſmooth ſand Hils farther vp the Countrey, much like to the Coaſt of Barbary.1625, Samuel Purchas, Pvrchas His Pilgrimes, volume I, London, →OCLC, page 652:
- We do not want Formosa or any part of Asia for ourselves.1950 September 1, Harry S. Truman, 3:42 from the start, in MP72-73 Korea and World Peace: President Truman Reports to the People, Harry S....
- If we do that, we start a chain reaction, because the Communists aren't after Quemoy and Matsu, they're after Formosa.1960, 56:02 from the start, in Presidential Candidates Debate, Richard Nixon (actor), via C-SPAN:
- The Chinese Communists were constantly threatening aggressive action against Formosa and the government of Chiang Kai-shek.1963, Dwight Eisenhower, Mandate for Change 1953-1956, Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 168:
Synonyms of Formosa
Forms of Formosa
| plural | Formosas |
|---|
Origin of Formosa
From 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”. The Brazilian city was named in honor of Empress Teresa Cristina, in the 1840s.
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.
Words formed from Formosa
Phrases with Formosa
Words that rhyme with Formosa
Questions about Formosa
- What does Formosa mean?
- Formosa means synonym of Taiwan: an island of East Asia.
- What is Formosa in Hindi?
- Formosa in Hindi is फ़ोर्मोसा (formosā). See Formosa meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use Formosa in a sentence?
- From the high Land of Formoſa, ſtretcheth out a lower Land to the water-ſide, being a white ſandy ſhoare, and ſmooth ſand Hils farther vp the Countrey, much like to the Coaſt of Barbary.
- What part of speech is Formosa?
- Formosa is a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce Formosa?
- Formosa is pronounced /fɔːˈməʊ.sə/ (UK).
Words near Formosa in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Formosa (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Formosa.wav.
Cite this entry: “Formosa.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/formosa. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.