Where does “móng tay” come from?
móng tay (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese Tây, from Chinese 西, from English West, from Middle English west, from Old English west, from Proto-West Germanic *westr, from Proto-Germanic westrą, from Proto-Germanic westraz.
móng tay (Vietnamese): fingernail
Definitions
- fingernail
Ancestry of “móng tay”, step by step
móng tay traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese Tây
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | Tây | Alternative letter-case form of tây |
| 2 | Chinese | 西 | — |
| 3 | English | West | Any of various particular regions named for the cardinal direction in which they lie |
| 4 | Middle English | west | west; A location to the south; the south; The... |
| 5 | Old English | west | west |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *westr | western, westernly |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | westrą | west; west, westward |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | westraz | west, western |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | wek(ʷ)speros | evening |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | we- | — |
via Vietnamese móng
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | móng | nail |
| 2 | Vietnamese | 孟 | — |
| 3 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | maŋ | big; old; elder |
| 4 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | *(s/r)-ma(ŋ/k) | — |