English word origin

Etymology of Yao

Borrowed from Mandarin 瑤／瑶 (yáo).

3 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 3 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗

noun

A Bantu people living in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa.

name

The language of these people.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

No narrative was extracted for this section. Available source templates and references appear below; no ancestor chain has been invented to fill the gap.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "+ people (East Africa)"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    }
  ],
  "links": [],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A Bantu people living in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania in Africa."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "plural",
        "plural-only"
      ],
      "recordId": "1543a5e469c3bb0226a4b2d4e15892902626df47f19ddca27e14001ccfe7dd9a",
      "rawRecordSha256": "b9aa436168b00d2e0012cf526b02b49c9229390daf097c666c40f579d7c11590",
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    },
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      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "The language of these people."
      ],
      "tags": [],
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
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  }
}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗

noun

The Mien people of China.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Borrowed from Mandarin 瑤／瑶 (yáo).

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "wp",
      "args": {
        "1": "+ people"
      },
      "expansion": ""
    },
    {
      "name": "bor+",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Borrowed from Mandarin"
    },
    {
      "name": "zh-l",
      "args": {
        "1": "瑤"
      },
      "expansion": "瑤／瑶 (yáo)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "瑤",
      "瑤#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "瑶",
      "瑶#Chinese"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The Mien people of China."
      ],
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      ],
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    }
  ],
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  }
}

Source etymology 3

Original entry ↗

name

A Chinese surname from Hokkien. · A Chinese surname from Mandarin.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From various romanizations of the Mandarin and Hokkien pronunciations of Chinese 姚 (Yáo/Iâu). Doublet of Yiu.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Derivation mention姚zh
Doublet mentionYiuen

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cmn",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Mandarin"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "nan-hbl",
        "3": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "Hokkien"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "zh",
        "3": "姚",
        "tr": "Yáo/Iâu"
      },
      "expansion": "Chinese 姚 (Yáo/Iâu)"
    },
    {
      "name": "doublet",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "Yiu"
      },
      "expansion": "Doublet of Yiu"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "姚",
      "姚#Chinese"
    ],
    [
      "Yiu",
      "Yiu#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "name",
      "glosses": [
        "A Chinese surname from Hokkien.",
        "A Chinese surname from Mandarin."
      ],
      "tags": [],
      "recordId": "0eaf13337c0f52dabec13cba1c12220f7f37d7df19f3392faf599ce0f5e2765a",
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for Yao →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-WWFv