Where does “mải mê” come from?

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

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

Definitions

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

Ancestry of “mải mê”, step by step

mải mê 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 →