tóc (Vietnamese)
Where does "tóc" come from?
The Vietnamese word 'tóc' stems from the deep historical roots of the Proto-Austroasiatic language, where it originated as the root '*sukʔ' referring to hair. It transitioned through the Proto-Vietic language as '*-suk' before evolving into its modern form. This ancient term shares a common ancestry with words for hair found across many related languages, such as Khmer, Mon, and Bahnar.
Full etymology tree
- tóc (Vietnamese), 'headhair'
- inherited *-suk (Proto-Vietic), 'headhair, hair, feather'
- inherited *suk (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
- inherited *sukʔ (Proto-Austroasiatic), 'hair'
- inherited *suk (Proto-Mon-Khmer)
- inherited *-suk (Proto-Vietic), 'headhair, hair, feather'
Ancestors
- *-suk (Proto-Vietic)
- *sukʔ (Proto-Austroasiatic)
Cognates and doublets
- sŏk (Bahnar)
- សក់ (Khmer)
- သော် (Mon)
- tóc (Muong)
Descendants and derived words
- cái răng cái tóc là góc con người (Vietnamese)
- tang tóc (Vietnamese)
- tóc đuôi gà (Vietnamese)
- tóc đuôi ngựa (Vietnamese)
- tóc mây (Vietnamese)
- tóc tai (Vietnamese)
- tóc tiên (Vietnamese)
- tóc xanh (Vietnamese)
- xén tóc (Vietnamese)
- xuống tóc (Vietnamese)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris