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˦˩]
(Saigon) IPA^(key): [tam˨˩]

Noun

(classifier con) tằm • (蚕, 蟳, 蠶)

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”)