Sangley

== English == === Alternative forms === sangley Sanglay, sanglay === Etymology === From Philippine Spanish Sangley, ultimately from Hokkien. === Noun === Sangley (plural Sangleys or Sangleyes) (Philippines, historical) A person of pure ethnic Chinese ancestry (especially during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines) ==== Related terms ==== Mestizo de Sangley === Anagrams === Ganleys == Spanish == === Alternative forms === sangley (standard) Sanglay, sanglay, Sang-lay, xiang-lay, Sang ley, sianglay, siang lay (obsolete) === Etymology === From Hokkien, possibly either: 常來 / 常来 (siâng lâi, literally “frequently comes”), as labeled in the Boxer Codex (1590) and explained in the Bocabulario de la lengua sangleya por las letraz de el A.B.C. (1617) as per Van der Loon (1967), from which Mandarin 常來人 / 常来人 (chángláirén) referring to Sangleys originates and consistent with Francisco de Sande (1576)'s description of “Throughout these islands they call the Chinese 'Sangleyes', meaning 'a people who come and go,' on account of their habit of coming annually to these islands to trade, or, as they say there, 'the regular port'.” as per Adelung (1817), Manuel (1948), and Go (2014-2015) 商來 / 商来 (siang lâi, literally “trader comes”), as explained in the Bocabulario de la lengua sangleya por las letraz de el A.B.C. (1617) as per Van der Loon (1967) 生理 (seng-lí, “business; livelihood”, IPA: /ɕiɪŋ³³ li⁵⁵⁴/) as in 生理人 (seng-lí-lâng, “merchant; tradesman; trafficker”), according to Go (2014-2015) and Manuel (1948) as “sieng-lí” recorded in Piñol (1937) 商旅 (siang-lú, “travelling merchant”), according to Manuel (1948) & Hofileña (2011) 送來 / 送来 (sàng lâi, literally “sent over”) or 生理人來 / 生理人来 (seng-lí-lâng lâi, literally “businessman comes”), according to Chan-Yap (1980). 誰來 / 谁来 (siâng lâi / sâng lâi, literally “who comes”), as per Norberto Romualdez in Manuel (1948) who says that “sangley is a Spanish corruption of sang lay, signifying "who comes", an expression used by the Chinese in the Islands to greet a ship coming from China.” According to Quilis et al. (1997), Wenceslao Retana (1921) commented before (sic): "(del chino xiang-lay, mercader.) adj. Nombre que en lo antiguo se dio en Filipinas a los mercaderes chinos, y que luego se hizo genérico de los de esta raza residentes en aquellas islas" Van der Loon (1967) additionally surmises that perhaps it is not of Chinese origin. Compare Tagalog Sanglay, Ilocano Sanglay, etc. === Pronunciation === IPA(key): /sanˈɡlei/ [sãŋˈɡlei̯] Syllabification: San‧gley IPA(key): /sanˈlei/ [sãnˈlei̯] Syllabification: Sang‧ley Rhymes: -ei === Adjective === Sangley (feminine Sangleya, masculine plural Sangleyes, feminine plural Sangleyas) (Philippines, historical) alternative form of sangley (“Chinese (historically pertaining to traders)”) Synonym: chino === Noun === Sangley m (plural Sangleyes) (Philippines, historical) alternative form of sangley (“ethnic Chinese person (person of pure ethnic Chinese ancestry, especially during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines)”) Synonym: chino (Philippines, historical, archaic) alternative form of sangley (“ethnic Chinese merchant”) ==== Derived terms ==== === References === === Further reading === “sangley”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025 Abella, Venancio María de (1874), Vade-Mecum Filipino ó manual de la conversacion familiar Español-Tagalog. Seguido de un curioso Vocabulario de Modismos Manileños., 12.ᵃ edition (overall work in Philippine Spanish and Tagalog), Escolta, Manila: Ramirez y Giraudier, á cargo de C. Miralles., page 121 == Tagalog == === Alternative forms === sangley === Etymology === Borrowed from Philippine Spanish Sangley, ultimately from Hokkien. Doublet of Sanglay. === Pronunciation === (Standard Tagalog) IPA(key): /saŋˈlej/ [sɐn̪ˈleɪ̯] Rhymes: -ej Syllabification: Sang‧ley === Noun === Sangléy (Baybayin spelling ᜐᜅ᜔ᜎᜒᜌ᜔) (historical) person of pure ethnic Chinese ancestry (especially during the Spanish colonial period in the Philippines) (archaic) alternative form of Sanglay ==== See also ====