ကြက်သွန်

Inherited from Old Burmese ကသွန် (ka swan); first attested in the Primma Hti Laing Shing Stone Inscription (1134 CE). Cognate with Lhao Vo hau: seim:, and ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *swa-n (“garlic”); see Old Chinese 蒜 (OC *sloːns, “garlic”) for more (STEDT). The transformation of the first syllable, က (ka.), to ကြက် (krak, “chicken”), appears to have been mediated by folk etymological processes.

Alternatively, per MED, the word could be a borrowing from Old Mon လသိုန် (given by MED as ကသိုန်), as a Kulturwort. However, the differing velar prefixes do not lend credence to the theory.

• IPA^(key): /t͡ɕɛʔθʊ̀ɴ/
• Romanization: MLCTS: krakswan • ALA-LC: krakʻsvanʻ • BGN/PCGN: kyetthun • Okell: ceʔthuñ

ကြက်သွန် • (krakswan) (classifier လုံး)

1. alternative form of ကြက်သွန်နီ (krakswanni, “onion”)

• “ကြက်သွန်” in The Judson Burmese–English Dictionary (Rangoon: American Baptist Mission Press 1921), page 228.
• “ကြက်သွန်” in Myanmar–English Dictionary (Myanmar Language Commission 1993). Searchable online at SEAlang.net.