Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Thai Etymologies (Part 2)

Any suggestions as to alternate etymologies are welcome. Based on my understanding of the Thai language, and my studies of other languages, and what I can find online, here's where I think these 10 words may have come from:

สบาย [s-ba:y] (n. well-being), from Pali [sappāya], from Sanskrit "सभेय" [sabheya] (well, in the sense of fit/decent), cognate to Isaan "ซำบาย" [sa:m-ba:y], Khmer "សប្បាយ" [sabbay] and Khmu "sambai" (well).

ครู [kru:] (n. teacher), from Sanskrit "गुरु" [guru:] (teacher), as in the English word "guru," which also comes from Sanskrit via Hindi.

หก [hok] (six), from Proto-Tai *xok (cf. Lao & Shan [ho:k]), cognate to Proto-Kam-Sui *ljok, Lakkia [lok], Be [lok], Pou Ma [hok], Khmu "hók," all borrowed from descendant forms of Proto-Chinese *gruk (six).

ชา [cha:] (n. tea), from Chinese "茶" [cha] (tea). Vietnamese "chè" is also cognate, as is English "chai." The English word "tea" is also a cognate, derived from Malay "teh," which was borrowed from the Amoy dialect of Chinese. Amoy "t'e" and Mandarin "ch'a" are said to be cognates, according to Douglas Harper's etymology dictionary of the English language.

สะอาด [sa-a:t] (adj. clean), cognate to Khmer [sʔa:t] (well-groomed).

อาหาร [a:-ha:n] (n. food/cuisine), from Sanskrit "आहार" [āhāra] (food/diet).

เรียน [rian] (v. learn), cognate to Khmer "រៀន"​ [rian] (learn).

ตก [tok] (v. fall), cognate to Proto-Kadai *tok, of Proto-Tai-Kadai origin.

งู [ŋu:] (n. snake), cognate to Proto-Kadai *ŋa, of Proto-Tai-Kadai origin.

กลอง [glo:ŋ] (n. drum), cognate to Malay "gong," although possibly coincidental, as both are clearly onomatopoeic, imitating the sound made when a drum is struck. The English word "gong" was borrowed from Malay in the 17th century, but the meaning in English refers to a specific type of drum.