shanghai

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun the largest city of China; located in the east on the Pacific; one of the largest ports in the world
  2. verb take (someone) against his will for compulsory service, especially on board a ship

Etymology

1871, from the important Chinese port Shanghai, as a verb with reference to the former practice by some shippers on the West Coast of the United States of press-ganging crews for fishing or shipping in the Pacific Ocean.

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