Where does “cái gai trong mắt” come from?

cái gai trong mắt (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese mắt, from Proto-Vietic mat, from Proto-Mon-Khmer mat — eye.

cái gai trong mắt (Vietnamese): thorn in the flesh; thorn in one's side

Definitions

  1. thorn in the flesh; thorn in one's side

Ancestry of “cái gai trong mắt”, step by step

cái gai trong mắt traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese mắt

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesemắteye
2Proto-Vieticmateye
3Proto-Mon-Khmermateye

via Vietnamese trồng

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrồngto plant
2Proto-Vietick-lɔːŋclear; limpid; inside
3Proto-Mon-Khmerkluuŋinside, middle

via Vietnamese gái

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesegáigirls and women; whores; female
2Proto-Vietict-keːthorn
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer mat →Every word from Proto-Vietic mat →Every word from Vietnamese mắt →