Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

1 8.8

A British official who founded Singapore as a trading port

proper noun

: Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles played a crucial role in establishing Singapore as a trading post.

Examples

The legacy of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is still evident in many Singaporean institutions today.
Many tourists visit statues and locations dedicated to Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles when exploring Singapore.
The legacy of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is still evident in Singapore.
Did Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles really establish Singapore in 1819?
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is celebrated as the founder of modern Singapore, having established it as a key trading port.
Visitors to Singapore often learn about Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles and his significant contributions to the city's development.
Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles is honored for his role in making Singapore a thriving center for commerce in the 19th century.

Synonyms

Sir Thomas Raffles

vsSir Thomas Stamford Raffles

1 6.3

A British leader who founded modern Singapore

states the founding role directly without the word modern and with concise phrasing

Surface Forms

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles main

Morphology

Sir + Thomas + Stamford + Raffles

This is a full proper name referring to a specific historical person; knowing the constituent parts (e.g. the title 'Sir' and the personal names) does not let a learner infer the factual information that he was a British colonial administrator and founder of Singapore. Proper names are referential and require world knowledge or prior exposure rather than compositional decoding, so the expression is opaque to a B1 learner who only knows the individual words.

Etymology

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was a British leader who set up a 'trading post' on the island that became Singapore, making him known as the man who started the modern city. That's why his name is used for many places and schools in Singapore and stands for the city's early 'founder'.