Where does “mã tà” come from?

mã tà (Vietnamese) comes from Malay mata-mata, from Malay mata, from Proto-Malayic mata, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian mata, from Proto-Austronesian mata, from Proto-Austronesian maCa — eye organ.

mã tà (Vietnamese): policeman during the French colonial period

Definitions

  1. policeman during the French colonial period

Ancestry of “mã tà”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malaymata-mataplural of mata; policeman; spy
2Malaymataeye; edge; hole
3Proto-Malayicmataeye
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesianmataeye
5Proto-Austronesianmataeye
6Proto-AustronesianmaCaeye organ
Every word from Proto-Austronesian maCa →Every word from Proto-Austronesian mata →Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian mata →
mã tà — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer