viên ngoại

Vietnamese

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 員外.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [viən˧˧ ŋwaːj˧˨ʔ]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [viəŋ˧˧ ŋwaːj˨˩ʔ]
• (Saigon) IPA^(key): [viəŋ˧˧ ŋwaːj˨˩˨] ~ [jiəŋ˧˧ ŋwaːj˨˩˨]

Noun

viên ngoại

1. (historical) minor official position in ancient royal ministries
2. (historical) honorific title granted to wealthy notables
3. (historical) a wealthy person without any official positions
   • 1820, Nguyễn Du (阮攸), Truyện Kiều (傳翹) [The Tale of Kieu], Liễu Văn Ðường edition, published 1866, lines 11–12:

     固(Có)茹(nhà)員(viên)外(ngoại)户(họ)王(Vương)
     家(Gia)資(tư)擬(nghĩ)拱(cũng)常(thường)常(thường)堛(bậc)中(trung)

     There was a respectable townsman with the surname Vương.
     Of modest wealth, he belonged to the middle class of society.

References

• André Nguyễn Văn Châu (2014), The New Vietnamese-English Dictionary, ISBN 9781941345498
• Tra cứu Từ điển Tiếng Việt - từ: viên ngoại, chunom.net