ntsaum

White Hmong

Etymology

From Proto-Hmong *mbrɔᴰ (“ant”), an areal word shared with Khmer ស្រមោច (srɑmaoc, “id”), Thai มด (mót, “id”), Malay semut (“id”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ᶯd͡ʐau̯˩̰/

Noun

ntsaum (classifier: tus)

1. ant

Derived terms

• ntsaum kab rwg (“termite”)
• ntsaum liab (“red ant, fire ant”)
• ntsaum nab (“a kind of large black ant with a powerful and painful stinger”)
• ntsaum qaub (“sour ant; a species of larger red ant whose adults have a sour taste and who web mango leaves together for shelter”)

 

References

• Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 198.