lào
Definition
Noun:
- A unit of measurement: A traditional container or measure used specifically for quantifying fish sauce (nước mắm).
- A standard or measure of value: Figuratively, a yardstick or criterion used to judge a person's worth, often critically in contexts of materialism.
Noun (Botany):
- A plant: Refers to specific plants, such as Chromolaena odorata (common name: Siam weed or cỏ lào) or tobacco used for a water pipe (thuốc lào). Note: This meaning is primarily seen in compound words.
Usage Examples
- Noun (Measurement):
- Một lào nước mắm. (A lào of fish sauce.)
- Họ chỉ biết lấy đồng tiền làm lào. (They only know how to use money as a measure of a person's worth.)
Advanced Usage
- The term is archaic and rarely used in modern daily conversation for its literal measurement sense. Its figurative use ("a measure of value") is found in literary or critical contexts to comment on societal values.
Variants and Related Words
Thuốc lào (n): A strong, traditional Vietnamese tobacco smoked through a water pipe.
- Ông cụ hút thuốc lào. (The old man smokes thuốc lào.)
Cỏ lào (n): A common name for the plant Chromolaena odorata, often considered a weed.
- Cỏ lào mọc đầy ven đường. (Siam weed grows all over the roadside.)
Gió lào (n): A hot, dry wind that blows from the west in central Vietnam.
- Gió lào thổi qua khiến trời oi bức. (The gió lào wind blows, making the weather sweltering.)
Synonyms
- Measure: A standard unit for assessing quantity or value.
- Yardstick: A standard for comparison.
- Criterion: A principle or standard for judgment.
Notes on Meaning
- The word "lào" itself, when standing alone, is most definitively the traditional measure. The botanical meanings (tobacco, weed) are inherent to the compound terms and . The wind is a fixed meteorological term.
- The figurative usage highlights a critical perspective on using material wealth as the sole measure of human value.