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khoai. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
khoai, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
khoai in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
khoai you have here. The definition of the word
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Vietnamese
Etymology
Borrowed from a Khmuic language, compare Mal kʰwaːj, or directly descended from Proto-Mon-Khmer *kwaaj (“yam”). The first scenario is more likely, but it is also possible that this now mainstream Vietnamese word is an internal borrowing, originated from the North Central region (where secondary aspiration frequently occurs) and replaced the Northern form without aspiration: it was spelt as 䓙 (phonetic 乖 (MC kweaj), SV reading quai) in a poem by Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm, a native of Northern Vietnam, while later works use various characters that clearly show aspiration.[1]
Cognate with Mon ကွဲာ (kwai).
Pronunciation
Noun
(classifier củ) khoai • (芌, 𧃷, 䓙, 𬞲)
- potato
- sweet potato
Synonyms
Derived terms
References