Well attestedNamed from the place
shanghai
verb · first attested 19th century
The verb is named for a port, not for a method invented there alone.
To kidnap or trick someone into service, especially at sea.
Shanghai·People's Republic of China
31.2325°N 121.4692°E · Q8686
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- 19th century
- Part of speech
- verb
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Shanghai
- In English
shanghai
In 19th-century English, to shanghai someone was to force them onto a ship, a practice associated with Pacific ports including Shanghai. The city name became the verb for the crime.
People's Republic of China
All 21 entries 20 more words from People's Republic of China
cashmereThe wool is Kashmir, spelled the old English way.KashmirchinaThe teacup is named for the country that made porcelain famous in Europe.JingdezhenkaolinThe clay behind porcelain is named for a hill in Jiangxi.JingdezhennankeenThe yellow cotton is named for Nanjing.NanjingXanaduThe dream palace was a real Mongol capital.ShangdusatinThe cloth is usually traced to a Chinese port's Arabic name.QuanzhouPeking duckThe dish carries the older English spelling of Beijing.BeijingCanton flannelCanton is Guangzhou; the cloth was named for the port, not a mill there.Guangzhou