မျှင်

For the "julienne" sense, STEDT provisionally derives the word from Proto-Lolo-Burmese *ʔ-m(j)aŋ¹/³ (“long (time)”), whence Lahu mɔ (“to last a long time”). Outside of Lolo-Burmese, STEDT tentatively compares Old Chinese 永 (OC *ɢʷraŋʔ, “eternal”), though the phonetics are not a very good match. Note also similarities to 麵 (OC *meːns, “noodles”).

The "cut into thin strips" and "shrimp" senses are grouped together by MED, perhaps as shrimp tend to be long and thin. Whether they are indeed etymologically related is uncertain, however.

• IPA^(key): /m̥jɪ̀ɴ/
• Romanization: MLCTS: hmyang • ALA-LC: myhaṅʻ • BGN/PCGN: hmyin • Okell: hmyiñ

မျှင် • (hmyang)

1. to cut into long thin strips or strands

မျှင် • (hmyang)

1. shrimp, prawn

   Hypernym: ပုစွန် (pu.cwan)

• ညှင်း (hnyang:)

• “မျှင်” in Myanmar–English Dictionary (Myanmar Language Commission 1993). Searchable online at SEAlang.net.