Where does “hành tím” come from?

hành tím (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese hành, from Vietnamese hành hạ, from Middle Chinese 行.

hành tím (Vietnamese): shallot

Definitions

  1. shallot

Ancestry of “hành tím”, step by step

hành tím traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese hành

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesehànhscallion, spring onion; onion; Short for hành tây
2Vietnamesehành hạto cause serious injury or misery to someone; to harass, to torment
3Middle Chinese行—

via Vietnamese tìm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetìmto search, to seek, to look for; to find
2Chinese尋—
Every word from Middle Chinese 行 →Every word from Vietnamese hành hạ →Every word from Vietnamese hành →