Where does “quý hiếm” come from?

quý hiếm (Vietnamese) comes from Luxembourgish Hiem, from Middle High German hemede, from Old High German hemidi, from Proto-West Germanic *hamiþi, from Proto-Germanic hamō, from Proto-Germanic hamô, from Proto-Indo-European ḱem- — to cover, conceal; hornless.

quý hiếm (Vietnamese): rare and valuable; treasured

Definitions

  1. rare and valuable; treasured

Ancestry of “quý hiếm”, step by step

quý hiếm traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Luxembourgish Hiem

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1LuxembourgishHiemshirt
2Middle High Germanhemede
3Old High Germanhemidishirt; skin
4Proto-West Germanic*hamiþishirt
5Proto-Germanichamōshape, physical form
6Proto-Germanichamôcover, skin; clothes, skirt, fishnet; harness,...
7Proto-Indo-Europeanḱem-to cover, conceal; hornless

via Vietnamese Quý

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1VietnameseQuýthe tenth heavenly stem
2FrenchquAlternative spelling of ku
Every word from Proto-Indo-European ḱem-