สมิง

Thai

the tiger spirit being captured, a mural painting at Wat Kaeo Phaithun, Bangkok

Etymology

From Mon သၟီ (“king; prince”). Cognate with Burmese သမိန် (sa.min).

Pronunciation

Orthographic		สมิง s m i ŋ
Phonemic		สะ-หฺมิง s a – h ̥ m i ŋ
Romanization	Paiboon	sà-mǐng
	Royal Institute	sa-ming
(standard) IPA(key)		/sa˨˩.miŋ˩˩˦/(R)

Noun

สมิง • (sà-mǐng)

1. (เสือ~) a type of evil spirit in Thai folklore, believed to be a person that turns into a tiger by the power of black magic or a tiger that can transform itself into a human due to being possessed by the ghosts of its human preys.
2. (historical) an honorific given to Mon senior nobles.

Derived terms

• สมิงพราย
• สมิงมิ่งชาย