| 释义 |
Lao, n. and a.|laʊ|
[Native name.]
A. n.
a. A branch of the Thai people (see quot. 1949) in South-East Asia; also, a member of this people.
1882Encycl. Brit. XIV. 294/2 The Laos are closely related in physique and speech to the Siamese proper. 1885T. de Lacouperie in A. R. Colquhoun Amongst Shans p. lii, We know more of the original seat of the Lao or Ngai Lao, than of the others. 1915W. W. Cochrane Shans I. 198 The teaching that God is more powerful than all the hosts of evil spirits..ought to be attractive..particularly to the Laos among whom the demons seem to be uncommonly active. 1949Jrnl. Amer. Oriental Soc. LXIX. 63/1 The use of Lao is confusing because, while it is now specifically applied to a specific Tai people—called Laotians by the French—another branch, not especially close to the Laotian, has been called Ngai-lao, or Ai-lao; while the name has also been sometimes used as synonymous with Tai. 1961P. Kemp Alms for Oblivion ii. 22 The majority of Laos stood by the French, whereas the Annamites detested them. 1969I. Kemp Brit. G.I. in Vietnam iv. 78 The Lao also look down on them [sc. montagnards], calling them kha, meaning ‘slaves’.
b. A group of dialects (see quot. 1954) spoken in Laos and neighbouring areas.
1939L. H. Gray Found. Lang. 390 To the south-eastern division belong Siamese, Lao, Lü, and Khün. 1948D. Diringer Alphabet 414 Lao is nowadays widely spoken in northern Siam. 1954Pei & Gaynor Dict. Ling. 120 Lao, a group of vernaculars spoken in Siam and in parts of Burma, classified as Shan dialects. 1961Times 23 Jan. 13/6 One of the Lao-speaking provinces. 1966Economist 6 Aug. 536/1 The Americans are beginning to bring in a flood of school textbooks in Lao.
B. adj. Of, concerning, or pertaining to the Lao or their language.
1882Encycl. Brit. XIV. 294/2 The last surviving descendant of the ancient Lao dynasty. 1915W. W. Cochrane Shans I. 155 The Lao alphabet..has 45 consonants. 1970Times 26 Feb. 11/2 Somehow a Laos for the Lao people will have to be conserved. |