茂利

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (茂利)		茂	利
simp. #(茂利)		茂	利
alternative forms		茂里 瞀里

Etymology

A theory is it is a shortened transliteration of English mullion. In the early 20th century, the British introduced Western architectural elements to Hong Kong, including the mullion. The locals at the time would liken gawkers (anyone who stares blankly due to being dumbfounded etc.) to a mullion standing in the middle of a window, and later the slang would apply to any dumb person.

Another theory is the term is a concatenation of 瞀 (mào, “ignorant”) and 里 (lǐ, “short for 大鄉里”).

Pronunciation

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mau⁶ lei²

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• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mau⁶ lei²
    • Yale: mauh léi
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mau⁶ lei²
    • Guangdong Romanization: meo⁶ léi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɐu̯²² lei̯³⁵/

Noun

茂利

1. (Cantonese, originally) gawker
2. (Cantonese, derogatory) airhead; fool; moron (Classifier: 條／条 c)