Where does “trái cây” come from?

trái cây (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese cây, from Proto-Vietic gəl, from Proto-Mon-Khmer (d)kər — tree; plant; tree, plant.

trái cây (Vietnamese): fruit

Definitions

  1. fruit

Ancestry of “trái cây”, step by step

trái cây traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese cây

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesecâytree; plant; Short for cây số
2Proto-Vieticgəl—
3Proto-Mon-Khmer(d)kərtree; plant; tree, plant

via Vietnamese trái

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesetráileft; reverse; morally wrong, unreasonable,...
2Proto-Vieticp-laːsfathom
3Proto-Mon-Khmerlaasto spread; to extend
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer (d)kər →Every word from Proto-Vietic gəl →Every word from Vietnamese cây →