do thám

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 遊 and 探.

This is probably the only instance of the reading do for 遊 / 游 (yóu) that is still in common use (the main reading is du). In the Dictionarium Anamitico-Latinum (1838), although do thám is not directly attested, compounds with clearly the same do were spelled with 由, however, this spelling is certainly not etymological.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [zɔ˧˧ tʰaːm˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [jɔ˧˧ tʰaːm˦˧˥]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [jɔ˧˧ tʰaːm˦˥]

Verb

do thám

1. to snoop around; to scout

   Synonym: thám thính

   máy bay do thám ― a spy plane