Where does “em vợ” come from?

em vợ (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese em, from Proto-Vietic ʔɛːm, from Proto-Mon-Khmer (sʔ)iəm.

em vợ (Vietnamese): brother-in-law; sister-in-law

Definitions

  1. brother-in-law; sister-in-law

Ancestry of “em vợ”, step by step

em vợ traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese em

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseemyounger sibling; I/me, someone who's presumably a...
2Proto-Vieticʔɛːm—
3Proto-Mon-Khmer(sʔ)iəm—

via Vietnamese vợ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesevợwife
2Proto-Vietic-bəːʔwife
3Old Chinese婦—
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer (sʔ)iəm →Every word from Proto-Vietic ʔɛːm →Every word from Vietnamese em →