Tokyo definition | Dictionary.com

To⋅ky⋅o

[toh-kee-oh; Japn. taw-kyaw]

–noun

a seaport in and the capital of Japan, on Tokyo Bay: one of the world's largest cities; destructive earthquake and fire 1923; signing of the Japanese surrender document aboard the U.S.S. Missouri, September 2, 1945. 11,468,516.

Also, To⋅ki⋅o.

Formerly, Edo, Yeddo, Yedo.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
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To·ky·o (tō'kē-ō', -kyō) Pronunciation Key
The capital and largest city of Japan, in east-central Honshu on Tokyo Bay, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. Founded in the 12th century as Edo, Tokyo became the imperial capital in 1868. Much of the city was destroyed by an earthquake in 1923 and by bombing raids during World War II. Population: 8,540,000.

Word History: The names of Japan's former and current capitals, Kyoto and Tokyo, appear to us to be made up of the same two elements reversed, but in fact they have only one element in common. The elements of Tō-kyō are old borrowings from Middle Chinese: tō means "east" and kyō means "capital," so together they mean "east(ern) capital." Chinese has another word for "capital," pronounced dū, whose Middle Chinese ancestor was borrowed into Japanese as to, "capital, large city." This is found in the name Kyoto, which was Japan's capital from 794 to 1192. The first part of Kyōto, kyō, is in fact the same word for "capital" found in Tokyo. Kyōto thus means "capital city."

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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tokyo
noun
the capital and largest city of Japan; the economic and cultural center of Japan

WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
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Tokyo

Capital of Japan and largest city in the country, located on the island of Honshu at the head of Tokyo Bay; the administrative, financial, educational, and cultural center of Japan.

Note: The world's largest city, Tokyo is also among its most modern.

Note: It was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II.

Note: Tokyo became the capital of the Japanese Empire in 1868 when Japan began a period of intensive modernization.

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