twm

White Hmong

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /tɨ˩̰/

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 特 (MC dok, “bull, ox”).^[1]

Noun

twm (classifier: tus)

buffalo, water buffalo
tus twm nyob hauv liaj ― the buffalo in the rice paddy

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 讀 (MC duwk, “to read, recite texts”).^[1]

Verb

twm

to read
Synonym: nyeem

Ob tug menyuam tabtom twm ib phau ntawv. ― The two children are reading a book.

Etymology 3

This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.
Particularly: “Not mentioned by Ratliff at all. Probably borrowed from Middle Chinese 獨 (MC duwk, “single, solitary”). twm xeeb probably belongs to this sense (獨行／独行 (dúxíng, “to walk alone, do one's own thing”).”

Adjective

twm

single, independent, lone, alone
twm tswb ― a single wild boar (which keeps to itself)
used in twm xeeb (“impatient, self-absorbed, narrow-minded”)

Usage notes

Attached before nouns, rather than after, in contrast to most Hmong adjectives.

References

Heimbach, Ernest E. (1979) White Hmong — English Dictionary‎^[1], SEAP Publications, →ISBN, page 331.

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20101031002604/http://wold.livingsources.org/vocabulary/25

[radd-1] 1.0 ^1.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20101031002604/http://wold.livingsources.org/vocabulary/25

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