Where does “ngàn trùng” come from?

ngàn trùng (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese ngắn, from Malay dengan, from Old Malay daṅan, from Proto-Malayic *dəŋan.

ngàn trùng (Vietnamese): impossibly; insurmountably

Definitions

  1. impossibly; insurmountably

Ancestry of “ngàn trùng”, step by step

ngàn trùng traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese ngắn

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesengắnshort, brief
2Malaydenganwith; and; by
3Old Malaydaṅan—
4Proto-Malayic*dəŋan—

via Vietnamese trứng

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetrứngan egg
2Chinese中middle
3Proto-Sino-Tibetant/duŋnavel; centre
Every word from Proto-Malayic *dəŋan →Every word from Old Malay daṅan →Every word from Malay dengan →