yếm

See also: yem, Yem, YEM, and yểm

Vietnamese

Etymology

From Proto-Vietic *ʔiɛmʔ (“breastplate”), a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 裺 (“bib worn by infants”, SV: yểm), likely related to yểm (掩, “to cover; to hide”).

Cognate with Muong yểm. Compare the possible loanwords: Thai เอี๊ยม (íiam), Khmer អៀម (ʼiəm).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ʔiəm˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ʔiəm˦˧˥]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ʔiəm˦˥]

Noun

(classifier cái) yếm • (裺, 𧞣)

1. a yem, a Vietnamese bodice based on the Chinese dudou.
2. (by extension) a garment that looks similar and that is worn in a similar fashion, such as a bib or a dudou

   yếm dãi ― a bib (literally, “a drool/saliva yem”)

3. (by extension, of a crab, turtle or tortoise) the bottom side of a shell, such as a plastron
4. (by extension, of a bovine) a dewlap

Descendants

• → English: yem
• → Tai Dam: ꪮꪸ꪿ꪣ

See also

• mai