Where does “តាខ្មៅ” come from?

តាខ្មៅ (Khmer) comes from Khmer ខ្មៅ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer kmuuʔ — dirty.

Ancestry of “តាខ្មៅ”, step by step

តាខ្មៅ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Khmer ខ្មៅ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Khmerខ្មៅblack
2Proto-Mon-Khmerkmuuʔdirty

via Khmer តា

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Khmerតាgrandfather
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer kmuuʔEvery word from Khmer ខ្មៅ