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လည်. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
လည်, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
လည် in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Burmese
Etymology
The "neck" sense is from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *g/m-liŋ (“neck”) (STEDT), and cognate with Old Chinese 領 (OC *reŋʔ).
The other senses are grouped by MED, and may be etymologically connected, though other theories separate them:
- The "rotate" sense is not given etymology by STEDT (lɑȵ² "rotate / spin"). Luce gives Old Chinese 輪 (OC *run, “wheel; turns, rounds”) as a cognate.[1] While semantically solid, the phonetics deviate enough to make a formal relation to the Chinese difficult. There is also a chance, as mentioned above, that this is a derivative of the "neck" sense in Etymology 2; for a semantic parallel in an unrelated language, compare Latin collum (“neck”).
- The "understand" sense is not given etymology by STEDT (nɑ⁵⁵ lɛ²² "understand / grasp"). It bears resemblance to Old Chinese 諒 (*ɡ·raŋs, “to forgive; to believe; truth”). Perhaps it is a back-formation of နားလည် (na:lany), with the original interpretation of လည် (lany) being in the Etymology 1 sense of "rotate" > "made rounds" > "well-versed"? Okell's "Burmese (Myanmar): An Introduction to the Spoken Language, Book 1", page 198, #18 of the Common Phrases Supplement section explains it as such.
Pronunciation
Verb
လည် • (lany)
- to revolve, to turn around, to rotate, to spin[2]
- Synonym: လည်ပတ် (lanypat)
- (of mills) to be running, be working
- to make a round of visits
- to make the rounds
- to go round in circles
- to revert to, regain
- to have ready cash
- to be sharp, shrewd
- to be well-versed in
- (obsolete) to understand[2]
Derived terms
(Nouns)
(Verbs)
Noun
လည် • (lany)
- neck[2]
- Synonym: လည်ပင်း (lanypang:)
Derived terms
(Nouns)
Derived terms
(unsorted by sense)
References
- ^ Luce, G. H. (1981) A Comparative Word-List of Old Burmese, Chinese and Tibetan, London: School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, →ISBN, page 64
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 “လည်” in The Judson Burmese–English Dictionary (Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press 1921), page 899.
Further reading