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
Ancestry of “trái cây”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Vietnamese | cây | tree; plant; Short for cây số |
| 2 | Proto-Vietic | gəl | — |
| 3 | Proto-Mon-Khmer | (d)kər | tree; plant; tree, plant |