Where does “ông Trời” come from?

ông Trời (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese trời, from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj, from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ — sky; rain; forest.

ông Trời (Vietnamese): Heaven (the personification and deification of the sky)

Definitions

  1. Heaven (the personification and deification of the sky)

Ancestry of “ông Trời”, step by step

ông Trời traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese trời

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrờithe sky; weather; a generic deification of the...
2Proto-Vieticb-ləːjsky
3Proto-Mon-Khmerbriiʔsky; rain; forest

via Vietnamese ông

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseônggrandfather; grandpa; Sir; Mr; you, my...
2Proto-Vieticʔɔːŋhoney bee
3Proto-Mon-Khmerʔuŋwasp; hornet
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer briiʔ →Every word from Proto-Vietic b-ləːj →Every word from Vietnamese trời →