taikonaut

From Mandarin 太空 (tàikōng, “space”) +‎ -naut, modelled after astronaut, cosmonaut, spationaut, etc. The term was coined on 19 May 1998 by Chiew Lee Yih (趙里昱 (Zhào Lǐyù)) from Malaysia, who used it first in newsgroups. Almost simultaneously, Chen Lan coined it for use in the Western media.

• Hyphenation: tai‧ko‧naut
• IPA^(key): /ˈtaɪkəˌnɔːt/

taikonaut (plural taikonauts)

1. A person who travels in space for the Chinese space program; a Chinese astronaut. [from 1998.]

   Coordinate terms: astronaut, cosmonaut, spationaut

   • 2003, Peter Schwartz, Inevitable Surprises, page x:

     The past decade has seen remarkable events and changes: […] The Columbia disaster and a Chinese taikonaut in orbit

• “Taikonaut? Yuhangyuan?”, in Mail & Guardian‎, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2005 October 12, archived from the original on 29 October 2011.
• Paul McFedries (2003 October 15) “taikonaut”, in Word Spy, Logophilia Limited, retrieved 4 June 2017.