Where does “mê mải” come from?

mê mải (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese mài, from Proto-Vietic meːʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer meeʔ.

mê mải (Vietnamese): to be absorbed (in); to be engrossed

Definitions

  1. to be absorbed (in); to be engrossed

Ancestry of “mê mải”, step by step

mê mải traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese mài

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesemàito grind
2Proto-Vieticmeːʔ—
3Proto-Mon-Khmermeeʔ—

via Vietnamese mẹ

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesemẹa mother; I/me, your mother; you, my mother
2Chinese迷—
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer meeʔ →