[ton-kin, tong-] 
| 1. | a former state in N French Indochina, now part of Vietnam. |
| 2. | Gulf of, an arm of the South China Sea, W of Hainan. 300 mi. (485 km) long. |
| Ton·kin (tŏn'kĭn', tŏng'-) A historical region of southeast Asia on the Gulf of Tonkin, an arm of the South China Sea, now forming most of northern Vietnam. It was part of French Indochina from 1887 to 1946. Ton'kin·ese' (-ēz', -ēs') adj. & n. |