bí đao

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See also: bidão

Vietnamese

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Etymology

It is not clear what the second element is. In Nhật dụng thường đàm (日用常談, 1827) and the Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum (1838), bí đao was spelled as 秘刀 and 費刀 respectively. In both cases, the second element is spelled with 刀 (MC taw, “blade”) (SV: đao), which makes little sense if taken literally ("knife gourd" or "sword gourd"), so it is most likely a phonogram used simply for phonetic value (just like the adjacent phonograms 秘 (MC pijH) and 費 (MC phj+jH) used to write bí (“gourd”)).

Considering that winter melon/wax gourd is commonly used to make sweets (Đại Nam quấc âm tự vị (1895) mentions mứt bí (“candied winter melon”)), the second element could be related to Arem atɛːw, Pacoh atao, Bahnar kơtao, all means "sugarcane"; if so, probably developed already into "sugary sweet" when this compound was coined, then became obscure.

Pronunciation

Noun

(classifier cây, trái, quả) bí đao

  1. winter melon (Benincasa hispida)
    • 1895, Huình Tịnh Của, Đại Nam Quấc âm tự vị:
      費 Bí. n. Loại dây xanh trái lớn.
      ― đao. Thứ bí dài trái, da xanh, người ta hay dùng mà làm mứt.
      費 Bí. n. Green vines that produce big fruits.
      ― đao. A kind of gourd with long fruit, its skin is green, it is often used to make mứt.
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