English
guai lan
Guai lan comes from Hokkien 怪𡳞 ‘strange dick’.
- Hokkienmodern怪𡳞koài-lān‘strange dick’
- Englishearliest quotation 1999guai lan
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Hokkienmodern怪𡳞koài-lān‘strange dick’
- Englishearliest quotation 1999guai lan
Earliest quotation: 1999, The Loanshark Look: “I'd say it's the "kwai lan" (gangster) look.”
The story
Derived from Hokkien 怪𡳞 (koài-lān, literally “strange dick”).
Every English word from Hokkien 怪𡳞
Today it means
adj Hard to please or satisfy; irritating, loathsome.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Hokkien 怪𡳞 / guai lan