Where does “mực kim” come from?

mực kim (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese kìm, from Chinese 金, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan gǝ̆m — metal.

mực kim (Vietnamese): spear squid

Definitions

  1. spear squid

Ancestry of “mực kim”, step by step

mực kim traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese kìm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesekìmpincers, clamp
2Chinese金gold; "orig." gold, golden
3Proto-Sino-Tibetangǝ̆mmetal

via Vietnamese mực

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesemựcink; squid; Short for dây mực
2Chinese墨ink
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan gǝ̆m →Every word from Chinese 金 →Every word from Vietnamese kìm →