Where does “đỉa trâu” come from?

đỉa trâu (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese trâu, from Proto-Vietic b-luː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer ml(əw) — betel.

đỉa trâu (Vietnamese): kind of large leech; either the horse-leech (Haemopis sanguisuga) or the European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis)

Definitions

  1. kind of large leech; either the horse-leech (Haemopis sanguisuga) or the European medicinal leech (Hirudo medicinalis)

Ancestry of “đỉa trâu”, step by step

đỉa trâu traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese trâu

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrâua water buffalo, as opposed to a bò; enduring,...
2Proto-Vieticb-luːbetel
3Proto-Mon-Khmerml(əw)betel

via Vietnamese đỉa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseđỉaa leech
2Proto-Vieticl-dɛhwater leech
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer ml(əw) →Every word from Proto-Vietic b-luː →Every word from Vietnamese trâu →