tampan, noun

/ˈtæmpæn/
Forms:
sampan, tampaanShow more Also sampan, tampaan, tan pan.
Origin:
IsiXhosa, Setswana, AfrikaansShow more Probably adaptation of isiXhosa intaphane, or Setswana letsipane or ditampane (the latter perhaps borrowed back from Afrikaans).
In full tampan tick: any of several ticks of the Argasidae: a. Ornithodorus moubata, a parasite of humans, carrying African relapsing fever; occasionally with distinguishing epithet, eyeless tampan. b. A parasite of poultry, Argas persicus; fowl tick. c. Ornithodorus savignyi, which preys on cattle; occasionally with distinguishing epithet, sand-tampan. Also attributive.
1857 D. Livingstone Missionary Trav. 176I dreaded the ‘Tampans’, so common in old huts.
1873 F. Boyle To Cape for Diamonds 256I have fought with ticks in Borneo; fleas in Egypt; and l—e in Sardinia. These are nought. The tampan will give them half his armoury of daggers, and beat them badly. In shape he is flat, about the size of a threepenny piece and under. He has many legs. His courage approaches ferocity, and his vengeance is terrible.
1880 P. Gillmore On Duty 295Bitten all over by ‘tampans,’ an insect synonymous to the ‘jigger’ of the West Indies.
1898 W.C. Scully Between Sun & Sand 8Woe betide the exhausted hunter who seeks the deceitful shade of these trees, for the ground beneath is full of the dreaded ‘sampans’, which bury themselves in the flesh and cause serious injury.
1958 A. Jackson Trader on Veld 65This [kameeldoring] is prolific in the desert and carries many nests of society birds, not to mention the tampaan tick, the size of a healthy bug, which descends upon you if you make your resting place under the tree.
1974 B. Smit in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. X. 503True tampan, (Ornithodorus moubata.) Mainly a parasite of man and a serious danger because it transmits a deadly disease, African relapsing fever...Its common name is eyeless tampan, and it should not be confused with the fowl-tick. It should also not be confused with the sand-tampan.., which has recently become a great problem as a parasite of cattle...This sand-tampan has not yet been proved to transmit a definite disease, but it causes much loss of condition and death by sucking blood from the animals.
1977 F.G. Butler Karoo Morning 177She suddenly exclaimed, scratching her legs — ‘It’s fleas! Or tan pans!’ — and leapt out of reach.
Ornithodorus moubata, a parasite of humans, carrying African relapsing fever; occasionally with distinguishing epithet, eyeless tampan.
A parasite of poultry, Argas persicus; fowl tick.
Ornithodorus savignyi, which preys on cattle; occasionally with distinguishing epithet, sand-tampan. Also attributive.
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Tammaka, nounn.tang, nounn.
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