Where does “ma lai” come from?
ma lai (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 lai (Vietnamese): a type of evil spirit in Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian folklore, appearing as a young beautiful woman with internal organs hanging from her neck where her torso should be; also known as กระสือ in Thai and អាប in Khmer
Definitions
- a type of evil spirit in Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian folklore, appearing as a young beautiful woman with internal organs hanging from her neck where her torso should be; also known as กระสือ in Thai and អាប in Khmer
Ancestry of “ma lai”, step by step
ma lai traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Vietnamese Mã
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | Mã | — |
| 2 | Chinese | 碼 | — |
| 3 | English | Mark | Abbreviation of Markarian |
| 4 | German | mark | mark any of various European monetary units |
| 5 | Latin | Mārcus | — |
| 6 | Latin | Martīnus | — |
| 7 | Latin | -īnus | of or pertaining to; -ine |
| 8 | Proto-Italic | -īnos | of/belonging to |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -iHnos | Creates adjectives of materials |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | -no- | adjectival suffix |
via Vietnamese lại
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | lại | again; on the other hand, meanwhile; to come |
| 2 | Chinese | 賴 | — |
| 3 | English | line | A path through two or more points (compare ‘segment’); a continuous mark, including as made by a pen; any path, curved or straight |
| 4 | Middle English | line | rope, cord; line, rule, ruler, measure; rule,... |
| 5 | Old English | līne | line, rope, cord; line, cable, rope, hawser,... |
| 6 | Proto-West Germanic | *līnā | line, chord, rope, string |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | līnǭ | that which is made of flax; line, chord, rope,... |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | līną | flax |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | līno- | flax |