Etymology

siam

S1I1A1M3

Today it means: To move aside; to get out of the way. Full definition →

Hokkien 閃 /闪
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siam · verb, interjection1

  1. Hokkien · borrowed from閃 /闪“to dodge”
  2. English todaysiam

From Hokkien 閃 /闪 (siám, “to dodge”).

Siam · proper noun2

  1. Thai · derived fromสยาม“Siam, historical name”
  2. Portuguese · borrowed fromSciam“Thailand”
  3. English todaySiam

Borrowed from Portuguese Sciam (“Thailand”), from Thai สยาม (sà-yǎam, “Siam, historical name”) (see there for more hypotheses), the same root as Shan and probably Assam.

Words from the same roots

Thaiสยาม all →

shan

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.