Talk:thạch sùng

Sùng: (蟲) or (崇)?

According to Bonet sùng (蟲) translates as worms, insects, reptiles and is a doublet of trùng, which is also confirmed at 蟲. In terms of the etymology of this entry, 蟲 [rock + reptile] would make much more sense than 崇 [rock + venerate]. Gavinkwhite (talk) 04:10, 4 July 2022 (UTC)

I'm not sure why you do this when the entry already explains that it was originally a person's name, so the meaning is irrelevant, and I think this is actually one of the few cases where the folk etymology-sounding explanation is actually plausible. 蟲 (MC drjuwng) was simply a phonogram for sùng, i.e. it's used for its phonetic value only. The word is attested Taberd (1838) as sùng sán and is also used as a stand-alone noun (see also sá sùng and sùng đất); this word might actually have its origin in some regional Sinitic form of 蟲, but it's not a Sino-Vietnamese reading and can not be derived from the Middle Chinese form. PhanAnh123 (talk) 04:38, 4 July 2022 (UTC)