Where does “bạc phơ” come from?

bạc phơ (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese phở, from Vietnamese vô, from Vietnamese vụ, from Chinese 務, from Sino-Tibetan *mow.

bạc phơ (Vietnamese): all white; snowy; grey-headed; grey-haired; hoary

Definitions

  1. all white; snowy; grey-headed; grey-haired; hoary

Ancestry of “bạc phơ”, step by step

bạc phơ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese phở

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesephởpho; to clear
2Vietnameseto enter; to go into; to toast; emphasizing...
3Vietnamesevụseason; case, affair; specialized department...
4Chinese
5Sino-Tibetan*mow

via Vietnamese bạc

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesebạcsilver; money; made of silver
2VietnameseBácI/me, the old Ho Chi Minh; you, the old Ho Chi...
3Proto-Vieticpaːkuncle
Every word from Sino-Tibetan *mow