nắm

See also: Appendix:Variations of "nam"

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *-namʔ (Ferlus, 2007), with the straightforward Muong Bi cognate nẳm. Curiously, Ferlus (2007) also assigned this word, along with Pong nɨm⁴, to the reconstruction *-nəmʔ; both might be different reconstructions of one etymology. Chut [Mày] nɯ̆m⁴ ("to grasp") (Babaev & Samarina, 2018) might also be listed.

Compare maybe Riang [Lang] kᵊnəm² ("clenched (of fist)"). Schuessler (2007) suggests relation to 揇 (OC *nə̂mʔ) "to hold in hand".[1]

Pronunciation

Verb

nắm • (捻, 唸, 󱢰, 𪫶, 喃, 揇, 䋻, 𢶸)

  1. to hold; to grip; to grasp
  2. (figurative) to grasp (opportunity, power, etc.); to seize

Derived terms

Classifier

nắm

  1. Used for a handful or fistful of something.

References

  1. ^ Schuessler, Axel. 2007. An Etymological Dictionary of Old Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. p. 396

Anagrams

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