Where does “sawi hijau” come from?

sawi hijau (Indonesian) comes from Indonesian hijau, from Malay hijau, from Proto-Malayic hijaw, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)qizaw — green.

sawi hijau (Indonesian): a Chinese vegetable, a variety of Brassica rapa parachinensis subspecies, similar to bok choy but slimmer, with smooth green leaves and pale green stems, and clusters of flowers on the tips of the inner shoots; choy sum

Definitions

  1. a Chinese vegetable, a variety of Brassica rapa parachinensis subspecies, similar to bok choy but slimmer, with smooth green leaves and pale green stems, and clusters of flowers on the tips of the inner shoots; choy sum

Ancestry of “sawi hijau”, step by step

sawi hijau traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Indonesian hijau

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesianhijaugreen; green, inexperienced; green,...
2Malayhijaugreen; environmentally friendly; green,...
3Proto-Malayichijawgreen
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(ma-)qizawgreen

via Indonesian sawi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Indonesiansawimustard greens (Brassica juncea)
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)qizawEvery word from Proto-Malayic hijawEvery word from Malay hijau