Where does “xã hội đen” come from?

xã hội đen (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese xã hội, from Japanese 社会, from Middle Chinese 社會.

xã hội đen (Vietnamese): thugs

Definitions

  1. thugs

Ancestry of “xã hội đen”, step by step

xã hội đen traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese xã hội

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesexã hộisociety
2Japanese社会society; a class, a world of a certain group
3Middle Chinese社會

via Vietnamese đen

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameseđenof the color black; dark; swarthy; unlucky;...
Every word from Middle Chinese 社會Every word from Japanese 社会Every word from Vietnamese xã hội
xã hội đen — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer