Where does “xanh lam” come from?

xanh lam (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese làm, from French lamé, from French -é, from Middle French -é, from Old French -é, from Latin -a, from Proto-Italic -ā, from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂.

xanh lam (Vietnamese): blue as opposed to green

Definitions

  1. blue as opposed to green

Ancestry of “xanh lam”, step by step

xanh lam traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese làm

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameselàmto do; to make; to work
2Frenchlamépast participle of lamer
3Frenchpast participle root verb suffix of regular -er...
4Middle Frenchpast participle root verb suffix of regular; -ed, -en, -n
5Old Frenchused to form past participles of regular -er...
6Latin-asuffixed to the roots of verbs, forms agent...
7Proto-ItalicForms masculine agent nouns from prefixed or compounded bases
8Proto-Indo-European-éh₂

via Vietnamese xanh

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesexanhgrue; green; wok
2Frenchsaintsaint; saintly
3Latinsānctussacred, made inviolable, having been established as sacred
4LatinIacobusJacob; James; Saint James
5Ancient GreekἸάκωβος
6Ancient GreekἸακώβJacob
7HebrewיַעֲקֹבJacob
8Hebrewעָקֵבheel of the foot; heel
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -éh₂Every word from Latin -aEvery word from French