ฮ่อ

Thai

Etymology 2, Definition 1

Etymology 2, Definition 2

Pronunciation

Orthographic/Phonemic		ฮ่อ ɦ ˋ ɒ
Romanization	Paiboon	hɔ̂ɔ
	Royal Institute	ho
(standard) IPA(key)		/hɔː˥˩/(R)

Etymology 1

Uncertain. Probably from:

• Hokkien 河 (hô, “river”), from 河蠻 (“river barbarian”) or 西洱河蠻 (“Western Ear-Shaped River barbarian”), the archaic pejorative terms used to refer to people from Yunnan in the far southwest of China, recorded in the 9th century document Book on Barbarians (蠻書) by Fan Chuo (樊綽);
• Hokkien 胡 (hô͘, “barbarian”);
• Hokkien 華／华 (hôa, “China”).

Cognate with Lao ຫໍ້ (hǭ), Northern Thai ᩉᩬᩴ᩶, Khün ᩉ᩷᩶, Lü ᦠᦸᧉ (ḣoa²).

Noun

ฮ่อ • (hɔ̂ɔ) (classifier คน)

1. (somewhat derogatory) Haw person.

Etymology 2

Uncertain.

Noun

ฮ่อ • (hɔ̂ɔ) (classifier เส้น)

1. decorative line written around the eyebrows and lips of a mask used in the Khon performance.
2. decorative line on a traditional painting, shaped like a waving ribbon, used to divide pictures into sections.