Sir Thomas Raffles

1 6.3

A British leader who founded modern Singapore

proper noun

: Sir Thomas Raffles

Sir Thomas Raffles is widely recognized as the founder of modern Singapore.

Examples

Sir Thomas Raffles established Singapore as a trading port.
A statue of Sir Thomas Raffles stands by the Singapore River to honor his contributions.
The legacy of Sir Thomas Raffles remains evident in the city's vibrant history.
The legacy of Sir Thomas Raffles continues to influence Singapore today.
Sir Thomas Raffles is widely recognized as the founder of modern Singapore.
A statue of Sir Thomas Raffles stands by the Singapore River to honor his contributions.
Sir Thomas Raffles established Singapore as a trading port.

Synonyms

Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

vsSir Thomas Raffles

1 8.8

A British official who founded Singapore as a trading port

is the shorter, more common form rather than the full formal name

Surface Forms

Sir Thomas Raffles main

Morphology

Sir + Thomas + Raffles

This is a proper name: knowing 'Sir' (an honorific) and the given names does not allow a learner to infer the biographical meaning (British colonial administrator who founded modern Singapore). Honorific + personal name constructions are cross-linguistically common but they do not convey the specific historical facts, so the expression is not compositionally transparent.

Etymology

The name Sir Thomas Raffles belongs to a British leader who, in the early 1800s, chose a small island as a trading port and helped build the town there. Because of that, people call him the 'founder of modern Singapore'.