phù thuỷ

See also: phù thủy

Vietnamese

Alternative forms

phù thủy

Etymology

Sino-Vietnamese word from 符水 (“charmed water”).

Pronunciation

(Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [fu˨˩ tʰwi˧˩]
(Huế) IPA^(key): [fʊw˦˩ tʰwɪj˧˨]
(Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [fʊw˨˩ tʰ⁽ʷ⁾ɪj˨˩˦]

Noun

phù thuỷ

any mythical or folkloric creature who practices magic or witchcraft; a witch, warlock, wizard, charmer, enchanter, magician, etc.

Usage notes

Fantasy has never been a popular genre in Vietnam, so it is not surprising that Vietnamese does not have a well-built fantasy vocabulary. As with the case of short creatures such as dwarfs, leprechauns, gnomes, trolls, etc. which are all called người lùn ("short people"), chú lùn ("short men"), etc., there are next to no terms for "magic/witchcraft/wizardry practioners" beside phù thuỷ and pháp sư.

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.