twm
Translingual
Etymology
Abbreviation of English Tawang Monpa.
Symbol
twm
See also
- Wiktionary’s coverage of Tawang Monpa terms
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
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.