Where does “ma gà” come from?

ma gà (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese Mã, from Chinese 碼, from English Mark, from German mark, from Latin Mārcus, from Latin Martīnus, from Latin -īnus, from Proto-Italic -īnos — adjectival suffix.

ma gà (Vietnamese): a chicken ghost; a chicken demon; a spirit that takes the form of a chicken and makes people ill

Definitions

  1. a chicken ghost; a chicken demon; a spirit that takes the form of a chicken and makes people ill

Ancestry of “ma gà”, step by step

ma gà traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamese
2Chinese
3EnglishMarkAbbreviation of Markarian
4Germanmarkmark any of various European monetary units
5LatinMārcus
6LatinMartīnus
7Latin-īnusof or pertaining to; -ine
8Proto-Italic-īnosof/belonging to
9Proto-Indo-European-iHnosCreates adjectives of materials
10Proto-Indo-European-no-adjectival suffix

via Vietnamese

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesea chicken; inexperienced or unskilled; to up the...
2Frenchgazgas; flatulence
3Dutchgasgas; liquefied petroleum gas; unpaved street
4Middle Dutchgasseunpaved street
5Middle High Germangazze
6Old High Germangazzalane
7Proto-West Germanic*gatwā
8Proto-Germanicgatwǭstreet, passage
9Proto-Indo-Europeangʰodweh₂
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -no-Every word from Latin -īnusEvery word from Latin Martīnus
ma gà — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer