พราย
Thai edit
Etymology edit
From Old Khmer brāya, from Angkorian Old Khmer vrāy (“(1) a type of spirit, recognised by the light it emits; (2) to glitter, to sparkle; (3) to scatter, to spread; etc”). Cognate with Modern Khmer ព្រាយ (priəy), Lao ພາຍ (phāi), Shan ၽၢႆး (pháai), Phake ၸႝ (phay, “giant, monster”), Aiton ၸႝ (phay, “giant, monster”), Ahom 𑜇𑜩 (phay, “giant”). Compare Proto-Tai *praːiᴬ.
Pronunciation edit
Orthographic | พราย b r ā y | |
Phonemic | พฺราย b ̥ r ā y | |
Romanization | Paiboon | praai |
Royal Institute | phrai | |
(standard) IPA(key) | /pʰraːj˧/(R) |
Noun edit
พราย • (praai) (classifier ตน)
- (Thailand folklore) (ผี~; if being a female: นาง~) a type of ghost, generally conceived of as being the ghost of a person, especially a woman, who died violently.
- (folklore, mythology, loosely) a type of imaginary creature, conceived of as inhabiting the rivers, mountains, trees, etc, as nymph, elf, naiad, etc.
- (now rare) circle on the surface of water: ripple, riffle, etc.
Adjective edit
พราย • (praai)
Verb edit
พราย • (praai)
- (figurative) to dazzle; to sparkle; to glitter; to twinkle; to shine.
- (figurative) to spread, scatter, or disperse, like a ripple on the surface of water.