Formosas

Proper noun

Formosa

1. (dated) 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

   Synonyms:

   Taiwan

2. (historical) A prefecture of Fujian, China (Qing Empire) (1683–1885).
3. (historical) 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
4. (historical) 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
5. (dated) 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
6. (dated) 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

See all 12 meanings of Formosa