Burmese

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Etymology 1

edit

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *laj (paddy field), which is apparently only attested in Burmese and Kuki-Chin (and the latter may have borrowed from the former); compare Mizo [Term?] (lěi lèt, to engage in wet-rice cultivation), as well as, outside Tibeto-Burman, Thai [script needed] (râj) (STEDT).

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Which Thai word is this referring to? ราย (raai, case, instance) doesn't seem to be a semantic match, unless the Thai term went through significant semantic shift.”

Noun

edit

လယ် (lai)

  1. paddy field
Synonyms
edit
Derived terms
edit

(Nouns)

(Verbs)

Etymology 2

edit

Inherited from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *m/s-la(ː)j (navel, center, self), which is allofamic with *m/s-la(ː)j ~ *s-taj (navel) and *s-taj (navel, abdomen, center, self); a distant cognate from the last root includes Old Chinese (OC *zliːl, “navel”) (STEDT).

Noun

edit

လယ် (lai)

  1. (in compounds) middle, center
Derived terms
edit

Further reading

edit
  NODES
see 1