Where does “viết chì” come from?

viết chì (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese chí, from Proto-Bahnaric ciː, from Proto-Mon-Khmer ciiʔ — louse.

viết chì (Vietnamese): a pencil graphite writing-instrument

Definitions

  1. a pencil graphite writing-instrument

Ancestry of “viết chì”, step by step

viết chì traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese chí

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesechíwill; spirit; Central Vietnam and Southern...
2Proto-Bahnaricciːhead louse
3Proto-Mon-Khmerciiʔlouse

via Vietnamese viết

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseviếtto write; non-chalk handheld writing instrument
Every word from Proto-Mon-Khmer ciiʔ →Every word from Proto-Bahnaric ciː →Every word from Vietnamese chí →