Showing posts with label Thai language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thai language. Show all posts

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.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Thai Etymologies (Part 1)

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:

สิงโต [siŋtɔ:] (n. lion), first element cognate to Hindi "सिंह" [siŋ] (lion), from Sanskrit [siṃha] (lion), cognate to Swahili "simba" (lion).

ตา [ta:] (n. eye), possibly shortened from Proto-Austronesian *mata (eye), as in Malay "mata" (eye) and Tagalog "mata" (eye), likely sharing a common origin with Proto-Austro-Asiatic *mat (eye), as in Vietnamese "mắt" (eye).

สาม [sa:m] (three), of Sinitic origin, cognate to Chinese "三" [sam] (three) and Japanese "三" [san] (three).

ดำ [da:m] (black), possible cognate to Proto-Vietic *tem (night) and Proto-Monic *tam (night).

นก [nuk] (n. bird), possibly shortened from Proto-Austronesian *manuk (chicken). Probably cognate to White Hmong "noog" [noŋ] (bird) as well.

สวัสดี [sàwàtdiː] (hello, goodbye), of Indo-European origin, from Sanskrit "स्वस्ति" [svasti] (well-being, luck), cognate to English "swastika" (Greek cross with arms bent at right angles, originally a good luck charm). Svasti = [su] (good) + [asti] (is), second element from Proto-Indo-European *es-ti (is), cognate to English "is" (is) and German "ist" (is).

โรง [rɔ:ŋ] (n. building, structure), borrowed from Old Khmer [roŋ] (shelter/room/hall), c.f. Khmer [raoŋ], from Proto-Austro-Asiatic *ro:ŋ (hall/house).

ข้าว [ka:w] (n. rice), cognate to Proto-Austro-Asiatic *kɔw (rice), cognate to Vietnamese "gạo" (rice). Direction of borrowing between the language families is uncertain, and probably took place many thousands of years ago.

ไฟ [fai] (electric), possibly of recent English origin, possibly cognate to English "fire" (fire), from Proto-Indo-European *paewr (fire). First element of Lao [fai-fa:] is clearly a cognate, and White Hmong "fai fab" [fai fa] was clearly borrowed from the Lao form.

แอปเปิล [ɛːpɤːl] (n. apple), of recent English origin, cognate to Malay "epal" (apple) and English "apple" (apple), from Proto-Indo-European *abel (apple).

เปล่า [plaɔ] (not, blank, empty, nil), possibly cognate to Lao "ບໍ່" [bɔː] (not).