Where does “ai bảo” come from?

ai bảo (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese báo, from Chinese 豹, from Chinese 駁, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *prawk — to be speckled, variegated, spotted.

Ancestry of “ai bảo”, step by step

ai bảo traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese báo

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesebáoa leopard; a spotted panther; a jaguar or a snow...
2Chinese
3Chinese
4Proto-Sino-Tibetan*prawkto be speckled, variegated, spotted

via Vietnamese ái

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseáito love; love; homosexual; gay
2EnglishAi
3EnglishaightContraction of all right; Okay; average; nothing...
4Englishall rightGood; in acceptable, if not excellent condition;...
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *prawk