Where does “xe lửa” come from?

xe lửa (Vietnamese) comes from Vietnamese xế, from French cé, from Spanish éste, from Latin iste, from Latin hāc, from Latin hīc, from Latin heic, from Latin hic — whale, sea monster; abyss.

xe lửa (Vietnamese): train

Definitions

  1. train

Ancestry of “xe lửa”, step by step

xe lửa traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Vietnamese xế

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnamesexếwheeled vehicle; to be sinking; to be on the...
2FrenchThe name of the Latin-script letter C
3Spanishéstethis one
4Latinistethat near you; those in the plural
5Latinhācthis way; these; in this place (or way)
6Latinhīcthis; these in the plural
7Latinheic
8Latinhicthis; these in the plural
9Proto-Italichek(e)
10Proto-Indo-Europeangʰi-ḱethis, here
11Proto-Indo-EuropeanḱeDeictic particle, here; Post-positional...
12Middle Englishkyt
13Russianкитwhale; genitive plural of ки́та
14Old Church Slavonicкитъwhale
15Ancient Greekκῆτοςwhale, sea monster; abyss

via Chinese 火車

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Chinese火車train; combat chariot carrying equipment for...
2Chinese
3Proto-Tochariankuk(ä)lewagon, cart
4Proto-Indo-Europeankʷékʷloswheel; circle
5Proto-Indo-Europeankʷel-to turn

via Vietnamese lửa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Vietnameselửafire
2Proto-Vietic-laːsfire
3Proto-Mon-Khmerslaasfire, to burn
Every word from Ancient Greek κῆτοςEvery word from Old Church Slavonic китъEvery word from Russian кит