lấp ló

Vietnamese

Etymology

-âp reduplication of ló.

Pronunciation

• (Hà Nội) IPA^(key): [ləp̚˧˦ lɔ˧˦]
• (Huế) IPA^(key): [ləp̚˦˧˥ lɔ˨˩˦]
• (Hồ Chí Minh City) IPA^(key): [ləp̚˦˥ lɔ˦˥]

Verb

lấp ló

1. to flicker; to glimmer; to scintillate; to appear and disappear intermittently
   • 18th century, Nguyễn Gia Thiều (阮嘉韶) (1741-1798), Cung oán ngâm khúc (宮怨吟曲), Phú Văn đường tàng (富文堂藏), printed in 1866 edition:

     䏾𦎛𤇥𤍊𥪝萌
     𦹵核拱闷浽情𩄲湄

     Bóng gương lấp ló trong mành,
     Cỏ cây cũng muốn nổi tình mây mưa.

     A [bright] mirror in the chamber, only half visible,
     [So beautiful,] Even some meek plants would not be able to hold themselves back from fantasizing.