Where does “tối nghĩa” come from?

tối nghĩa (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese tối, from Vietnamese tí, from Middle Chinese 子, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsəʔ — child, son, offspring; grandson; relatives; nephew/niece.

tối nghĩa (Vietnamese): difficult to understand; obscure; ambiguous; open to multiple interpretations

Definitions

  1. difficult to understand; obscure; ambiguous; open to multiple interpretations

Ancestry of “tối nghĩa”, step by step

tối nghĩa traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese tối

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetốidark; the duration from the late evening to the...
2Vietnamesetíbreast; a little bit; tiny; small
3Middle Chinese子—
4Proto-Sino-Tibetan*tsəʔchild, son, offspring; grandson; relatives; nephew/niece

via Vietnamese nghĩa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesenghĩaa meaning; a sense; morality
2Chinese義—
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *tsəʔ →Every word from Middle Chinese 子 →Every word from Vietnamese tí →