Where does “bao cao su” come from?
bao cao su (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese báo, from Chinese 豹, from Chinese 駁, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *prawk — to be speckled, variegated, spotted.
bao cao su (Vietnamese): a condom
Definitions
- a condom
Ancestry of “bao cao su”, step by step
bao cao su traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese báo
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | báo | a leopard; a spotted panther; a jaguar or a snow... |
| 2 | Chinese | 豹 | — |
| 3 | Chinese | 駁 | — |
| 4 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | *prawk | to be speckled, variegated, spotted |
via Vietnamese cao su
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | cao su | rubber |
| 2 | French | caoutchouc | rubber |
| 3 | Spanish | caucho | rubber |
| 4 | Quechua | kawchu | rubber |