THE ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD TYPHOON IN CHINESE AND RUSSIAN LANGUAGES

Abstract

The word typhoon currently has a precise concept in meteorology, defined as a type of tropical cyclone that is typical of the northwestern Pacific Ocean and the South Sea of China. The Chinese word [táifēng] consists of two elements: ‘tower; tower; stage; arena; bandstand; grandstand; stand; remote control; table; counter; window sill; Taiwan’ and 风 ‘wind; windy’. This term has long existed in Chinese. The etymology of this word is considered a controversial issue – its origin is unclear. There are 5 arguments in total: 1) The wind is blowing from Taiwan; 2) from the other Greek word typhon, the Arabs use this word to refer to the phenomenon of typhoon; 3) from the transcription of the English word typhoon; 4) from the Cantonese dialect of 大风 [dàfēng], pronounced taifun in Cantonese; 5) from the Southern Chinese dialect. The article examines the history of the word typhoon in Chinese and Russian. The etymology of this word is proposed more precisely. Its original and figurative meanings are revealed. Although this lexeme is still very young in Russian, several derivatives have already been formed from it, such as тайфунный, тайфунить, тайфунник, тайфун-каннат. However, these derivatives are still little used.