Nam
/næm/noun
An informal English name for Vietnam, especially in references to the Vietnam War.
Did you know?Vietnamese Nam means “south,” from a Sino-Vietnamese word historically associated with the southern direction and the country’s name Việt Nam.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
南
“South; the southern direction”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
nəm
“South, the southern direction”
Medieval Vietnamese
Vietnamese
Nam
“South, used in the country-name Việt Nam”
19th Century
Vietnamese
Việt Nam
“The name of the Southeast Asian country”
20th Century
American English
Vietnam
“The country, especially in political and military contexts”
1960s–1970s
American English
the Nam
“Informal shorthand for Vietnam, particularly the Vietnam War”
Modern English
English
Nam
“A colloquial reference to Vietnam or the Vietnam War”