Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A member of a traditionally Buddhist people inhabiting the area of the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand.
  • noun The Tai language of the Lao.
  • adjective Of or relating to the Lao or their language or culture.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A person of Lao ethnicity.
  • proper noun The official language of Laos (closely related to Thai).
  • adjective Of, from, or pertaining to Laos, the Lao people or the Lao language.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a member of a Buddhist people inhabiting the area of the Mekong River in Laos and Thailand and speaking the Lao language; related to the Thais
  • adjective of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand
  • noun the Tai language of a Buddhist people living in the area of the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Lao Láo, perhaps from láo, person (unattested sense), third person common-gender pronoun.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Lao ລາວ (laaw).

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