English

Alternative forms

• (obsolete) Shang-hai

Proper noun

Shanghai

1. A major port city in eastern China.
2. The provincial-level municipality between Jiangsu and Zhejiang in eastern China comprising Shanghai proper and its suburbs.

Derived terms

• Shanghainese
• shanghai

Hypernyms

• (districts) Huangpu, Jing'an, Xuhui, Minhang, Jiading, Changning, Putuo, Hongkou, Yangpu, Baoshan, Jinshan, Songjiang, Qingpu, Fengxian
• (new area) Pudong
• (county) Chongming

Translations

Noun

Shanghai ‎(plural Shanghais)

1. A type of long-legged chicken believed to be of Asian origin.

Ido

Etymology

From Mandarin 上海 ‎(Shànghǎi, literally “Upon-the-Sea”).

Proper noun

Shanghai

1. Shanghai (city, municipality)

Portuguese

Proper noun

Shanghai f

1. Alternative spelling of Xangai

English

Verb

shanghai ‎(third-person singular simple present shanghais, present participle shanghaiing, simple past and past participle shanghaied)

1. (transitive) To force or trick (someone) into joining a ship which is lacking a full crew.
   • 1999 June 24, ‘The Resurrection of Tom Waits’, in Rolling Stone, quoted in Innocent When You Dream, Orion (2006), page 256,

     It was the strangest galley: the sounds, the steam, he's screaming at his coworkers. I felt like I'd been shanghaied.

2. (transitive) To abduct or coerce.
   • 1974 September 30, ‘Final Report on the Activities of the Children of God',

     Oftentimes the approach is to shanghai an unsuspecting victim.

3. (transitive) To commandeer; appropriate; hijack

   Let's see if we can shanghai a room for a couple of hours.

Synonyms

• (force or trick someone into joining a ship; abduct or coerce): press-gang

Translations

Etymology 2

From Scottish shangan, from Scottish Gaelic seangan, influenced by the Chinese city.^[1]

Noun

shanghai ‎(plural shanghais)

1. (Australia, New Zealand) A slingshot.
   • 1985, Peter Carey, Illywhacker, Faber and Faber 2003, p. 206:

     They scrounged around the camp […] and held out their filthy wings to the feeble sun, making themselves an easy target for Charles's shanghai.

References

1. ↑ Origins: A Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, by Eric Partridge, 2006, p. 613