Where does “chí” come from?

chí (Vietnamese) comes from Proto-Bahnaric ciː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer ciiʔ — louse.

chí (Vietnamese): will; spirit; Central Vietnam and Southern...

Definitions

  1. will; spirit; Central Vietnam and Southern...

Ancestry of “chí”, step by step

chí traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Proto-Bahnaric ciː

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Bahnaricciːhead louse
2Proto-Mon-Khmerciiʔlouse

via Proto-Vietic ɟiːʔ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Proto-Vieticɟiːʔ—
2Old Chinese姊—

via Malay ci

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayciriver
2Sundaneseᮎᮤ—

Words derived from “chí”

Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer ciiʔ →Every word from Proto-Bahnaric ciː →