Jump to content

ba ba

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Vietnamese

[edit]

Alternative forms

[edit]
  • (hypercorrection) baba

Etymology

[edit]
This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “This distrubution is a bit bizarre. These AA languages probably borrowed the word from Austronesian, but only in Taiwan that reflexes of *qaCipa mean "soft-shell turtle" and the ACD also notes the word probably originally meant "hawksbill turtle" and was borrowed among Austronesian languages themselves. It is unlikely that the proto-languages of these branches ever had contacts with the AN languages of Taiwan.”

From Proto-Mon-Khmer *t₁paʔ (turtle). Cognate with Proto-Bahnaric *tpaː (turtle) (whence Bahnar tơpa), Proto-Katuic *tpaa (soft-shelled turtle), Samre m̩pʰaː, Khmu [Cuang] tmpaʔ and Mang maː¹ paː². Compare Proto-Austronesian *qaCipa (soft-shelled turtle).

Pronunciation

[edit]

Noun

[edit]

(classifier con) ba ba

  1. soft-shell turtle

Usage notes

[edit]
  • Sometimes spelled baba due to incorrect assumption that this is a recent loanword.