Tôn Nữ

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 孫女, composed of 孫 (“grandchild”) and 女 (“daughter”), Chinese 孫女／孙女 (sūnnǚ, “granddaughter”). Originally the various titles of Nguyễn emperors' granddaughters (công tôn nữ (literally “the granddaughter who is a duke (prince)'s daughter”)), great-granddaughters (công tằng tôn nữ), etc.

Alternatively, from a non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 宗女 (“female of imperial lineage”, SV: tông nữ), with tông perhaps euphemistically replaced with tôn to avoid referencing Emperor Thiệu Trị, whose taboo name was Nguyễn Phúc Miên Tông. A name prescribed by Emperor Minh Mạng upon female descendants of the Nguyễn Phúc lineage. Compare Tôn Thất and tôn giáo.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ton˧˧ nɨ˦ˀ˥]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [toŋ˧˧ nɨ˧˨]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [toŋ˧˧ nɨ˨˩˦]

Proper noun

Tôn Nữ

1. a surname from Chinese