Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “Saïgon” come from?

Saïgon (French) comes from Vietnamese Sài Gòn, from Khmer ព្រៃនគរ, from Khmer នគរ, from Sanskrit नगर, from Sanskrit गर, from Sanskrit गुरु, from Proto-Indo-Aryan gr̥Húṣ, from Proto-Indo-Iranian gr̥Húš — Forms adjectives from Caland system roots.

Ancestry of “Saïgon”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1VietnameseSài Gòn—
2Khmerព្រៃនគរ—
3Khmerនគរkingdom
4Sanskritनगरtown, city; urban
5Sanskritगरmountain, top
6Sanskritगुरुheavy, weighty; heavy in the stomach , difficult...
7Proto-Indo-Aryangr̥Húṣ—
8Proto-Indo-Iraniangr̥Húšheavy
9Proto-Indo-Europeangʷréh₂usheavy
10Proto-Indo-European-usForms adjectives from Caland system roots

Words derived from “Saïgon”

  • Saïgonnais
  • saïgonnais
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -us →