นก

นก • (transliteration needed)

1. alternative spelling of ᨶᩫ᩠ᨠ (“bird”)

From Proto-Tai *C̬.nokᴰ (“bird”). Cognate with Northern Thai ᨶᩫ᩠ᨠ (nok), Lao ນົກ (nok), Tai Dam ꪶꪙꪀ, Lü ᦷᦓᧅ (nok), Shan ၼူၵ်ႉ (nṵ̂uk), Ahom 𑜃𑜤𑜀𑜫 (nuk), Bouyei rog, Nong Zhuang noag, Zhuang roeg, Saek น็อก. Compare Proto-Be *nukᴰ² (“bird”), Proto-Austronesian *manuk (“bird; chicken”), Proto-Hmong-Mien *m-nɔk (“bird”).

The "lock of a firearm" sense is likely a semantic extension of the "bird" sense, due to its resemblance to a bird's mouth. For a semantic parallel in an unrelated language, compare English cock.

นก • (nók) (classifier ตัว)

1. bird
2. (firearms) lock

นก • (nók) (abstract noun การนก)

1. (slang) to be ignored or refused by a person
2. (slang) to miss; to fail to succeed in something

   นกตั๋วคอนเสิร์ต

   nók dtǔua kɔɔn-sə̀ət

   To miss a concert ticket; to fail [to obtain] a concert ticket.

• “นก” in Thai Dictionary Project (TDP) (UC Berkeley 1964) (plus additional data from the Royal Institute of Thailand (RI) and NECTEC's LEXITRON project (LEX)). Searchable online at SEAlang.net.