See also: khai

Vietnamese

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Etymology

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This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “In many Vietic and Austroasiatic languages (such as Khmer), velar stop is often non-phonemically aspirated before sonorants (cf. Kha Phong kʰalaː¹ ("noon") < *k-laː), so the Proto-Vietic form can be obtained after simple metathesis: pre-Proto-Vietic *k-laːʔ [kʰ(ə)laːʔ] > Proto-Vietic *k-haːlʔ. Compare also the proto-forms of gió and khói, which might be related to each other through the same exact pattern of metathesis.”

From Proto-Vietic *k-haːlʔ / *kʰaːlʔ, from Proto-Mon-Khmer *klaʔ. Cognate with whence Khmer ខ្លា (khlaa), Bahnar kla, Khasi khla, Mon ကၠ. Doublet of hổ.

Compare also Khmer ខាល (khaal, Year of the Tiger), which was a Vietic loan.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(classifier con) khái (𤠲, 𤡚)

  1. (North Central Vietnam) a tiger (The mammal Panthera tigris)
    Synonyms: hổ, cọp, hùm, kễnh, ông ba mươi