English
mafoo
Mafoo comes from Mandarin 馬伕.
- Mandarinmodern馬伕mǎfū
- Englishearliest quotation 1977mafoo
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Mandarinmodern馬伕mǎfū
- Englishearliest quotation 1977mafoo
Earliest quotation: 1977, John Le Carré, The Honourable Schoolboy: “The mafoos held their charges miserably, as if sick…”
Every English word from Mandarin 馬伕
Today it means
noun In China, someone who looks after horses in a stable; a groom.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Mandarin 馬伕 / mafoo