Where does “ເບີ” come from?
ເບີ (Lao) comes from Thai เบอร์, from Thai นัมเบอร์, from English number, from English numb, from English nim, from Middle English nimen, from Old English niman, from Proto-West Germanic neman — to distribute; to give, to take.
ເບີ (Lao): butter; number
Ancestry of “ເບີ”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Thai | เบอร์ | number; telephone number; degree; extent; size |
| 2 | Thai | นัมเบอร์ | number |
| 3 | English | number | An abstract entity used to describe quantity; A... |
| 4 | English | numb | Physically unable to feel, not having the power... |
| 5 | English | nim | To take or seize; To filch, steal; To walk with... |
| 6 | Middle English | nimen | to take |
| 7 | Old English | niman | to take, seize |
| 8 | Proto-West Germanic | neman | to take |
| 9 | Proto-Germanic | nemaną | to take |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | nem- | to distribute; to give, to take |