| This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Looks like a compound of dab (“spirit”) + neeg (“person”), perhaps because the two most common beings in Hmong folklore are spirits and people. Alternatively, the name is because stories are a way for spirits to pass down their knowledge to their living descendants, generation by generation. Or perhaps there's another explanation along the same lines.” |