Where does “ngà voi” come from?

ngà voi (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese ngã, from Chinese 俄, from Manchu ᠣᡵᠣᠰ, from Classical Mongolian ᠣᠷᠤᠰ᠋, from Middle Mongolian 斡羅思, from Old East Slavic Русь, from Finnish ruotsi, from Proto-Finnic *roocci — to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare.

ngà voi (Vietnamese): elephant's tusk; ivory

Definitions

  1. elephant's tusk; ivory

Ancestry of “ngà voi”, step by step

ngà voi traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese ngã

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesengãto fall; Short for thanh ngã; an intersection
2Chinese
3ManchuᠣᡵᠣᠰRussian
4Classical Mongolianᠣᠷᠤᠰ᠋
5Middle Mongolian斡羅思
6Old East SlavicРусьRus; Ruthenia
7FinnishruotsiSwedish
8Proto-Finnic*roocciSwede originally anyone from Roslagen
9Old Swedishroþs-related to rowing
10Old Norseróðrrowing
11Proto-Germanicrōþrąoar; rudder
12Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁reh₁-to row; to separate; loose, sparse, rare

via Vietnamese vôi

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesevôilime
2Proto-Vietick-puːrlime
3Proto-Mon-Khmerknpurlime
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁reh₁-Every word from Old Swedish roþs-Every word from Proto-Finnic *roocci