tằm

See also: Appendix:Variations of "tam"

Vietnamese

Etymology

Non-Sino-Vietnamese reading of Chinese 蠶 (“silkworm”, SV: tàm).

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [tam˨˩]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [tam˦˩]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [tam˨˩]

Noun

(classifier con) tằm • (蚕, 蟳, 蠶)

1. silkworm
   • 15th century, Nguyễn Trãi, “言志 Ngôn chí 8”, in Quốc âm thi tập (國音詩集):

     蟳庵六辱船頭𣺽
     蠔質樞離㯲檜廊

     Tằm ươm lúc nhúc thuyền đầu bãi.
     Hàu chất so le khóm cuối làng.

     The thread-pulling silkworms wriggle on the boats next to the wharf;
     The oysters are stacked unevenly into heaps at the village's farthest corner.

   • Lý hạng ca dao 里巷歌謠 (Folk-ballads from the hamlets and alleys), folio 34a

     蟳㷈絲蝒拱㷈絲

     Tằm ươm tơ, nhện cũng ươm tơ.

     The silkworms produce silk; the spiders also produce silk.

   • 1947 (dated), Nguyễn Bính, “Con Tằm (The Silkworm)”, included in 1962 Đêm sao sáng (Starlit Night)

     Tôi, con tằm, ăn những lá dâu xanh, [...].

     I, the silkworm, eat the green mulberry leaves, [...].

Derived terms

• dâu tằm (“mulberry”)