Where does “ông bà” come from?

ông bà (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese bà, from Chinese 爸, from Chinese 父, from Komodo paʔ, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian əpat, from Proto-Austronesian Səpat — four.

ông bà (Vietnamese): grandparents; ancestor

Definitions

  1. grandparents; ancestor

Ancestry of “ông bà”, step by step

ông bà traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese bà

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesebàa grandmother; an old woman; an old lady; you, my...
2Chinese爸—
3Chinese父—
4Komodopaʔfour
5Proto-Malayo-Polynesianəpatfour
6Proto-AustronesianSəpatfour

via Vietnamese ông

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseônggrandfather; grandpa; Sir; Mr; you, my...
2Proto-Vieticʔɔːŋhoney bee
3Proto-Mon-Khmerʔuŋwasp; hornet

Words derived from “ông bà”

Every word from Proto-Austronesian Səpat →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian əpat →Every word from Komodo paʔ →