taipan 1
/tuy"pan/ , n.
(in China) the head or owner of a foreign business establishment.
[ 1895-1900; daaih-baan ), akin to Chin dàban ( dà great + ban company, class) ]
taipan 2
/tuy"pan/ , n.
a highly venomous elapid snake, Oxyuranus scutellatus, of New Guinea and northern Australia, that grows to a length of from 10 to 12 ft. (3.1 to 3.7 m).
[ 1930-35; tay-pan ]