# Mekong
## English
### Etymology

c. 19th c., from Thai แม่โขง (mɛ̂ɛ-kǒong, literally “Mother river”), contracted form of แม่น้ำโขง (mɛ̂ɛ-náam-kǒong).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmikɔŋ/, /mɛˈkɔːŋ/
* (General American) IPA: /ˈmikɔŋ/, enPR: měʹkôngʹ
* enPR: māʹkôngʹ

### Proper noun

Mekong
* A river in southeastern Asia that flows about 4,183 km (2,600 miles) from Tibet to the South China Sea in Vietnam.
** 2018 March 28, Ben Mauk, “A People in Limbo, Many Living Entirely on the Water”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on March 29, 2018‎:The Mekong River’s lower basin is vast, encompassing parts of Myanmar and Thailand, virtually all of Laos and Cambodia and parts of southern Vietnam, where, after a 3,000-mile journey across five national borders, the mother of rivers divaricates into a complex delta network and drains into the South China Sea. Tonle Sap Lake sits roughly in the middle of this lush expanse. On a map, it appears as a crooked blue finger extending from the Mekong near Phnom Penh. But it is more often described as Cambodia’s heart, both for its rhythmic flood pulse and the sustaining role it plays in the country’s economy and food supply.
** 2022 June 1, “Mekong River in jeopardy: Sand-pumping operations ravage ecosystem”, in France 24‎, archived from the original on June 01, 2022, Focus‎:The Mekong is one of the largest rivers in the world, beginning in China and flowing through Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Nearly 70 million people in Asia are dependent on its waters for fishing or to irrigate their rice fields.
** 2023 September 1, “On the Mekong Through Laos”, in Deutsche Welle‎, archived from the original on 02 September 2023, Nature and Environment‎:In the isolated villages, some of which are only accessible by boat, most Laotians live off the land. There are huge rice paddies on the fertile banks on the Mekong; rice is the Laotians’ main staple, eaten three times a day here.
** 2024 March 4, Juarawee Kittisilpa, Panu Wongcha-um, “One-fifth of Mekong river fish species face extinction, report says”, in William Mallard, editor, Reuters‎, archived from the original on December 28, 2024:Unsustainable development threatens the health and diverse fish populations of the Mekong river, with one-fifth of fish species in Southeast Asia's main artery facing extinction, a report by conservation groups said on Monday. The Mekong, stretching nearly 5,000 km (3,000 miles) from the Tibetan Plateau to the South China Sea, is a farming and fishing lifeline for tens of millions of people in China, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
** For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Mekong.

#### Synonyms

* Mekong River

#### See also

* Mekong Bobtail

### Further reading

* “Mekong”, in Collins English Dictionary.
* “Mekong, pn.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
* “Mekong”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
* “Mekong”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
* “Mekong” in TheFreeDictionary.com, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.: Farlex, Inc., 2003–2025.

### Anagrams

* Möngke

## German
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /meˈkɔŋ/, /ˈmeːkɔŋ/ (latter especially in Mekongdelta)
* Audio:(file)
* Audio:(file)

### Proper noun

der Mekong m (proper noun, strong, usually definite, definite genitive des Mekong or des Mekongs)
* Mekong (a river in Southeast Asia)

#### Derived terms

* Mekongdelta

## Hungarian
### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ˈmɛkoŋɡ]
* Hyphenation: Me‧kong

### Proper noun

Mekong
* Mekong (a river in southeastern Asia)

#### Derived terms

* mekongi

## Italian
### Proper noun

Mekong m
* Mekong

## Polish
### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈmɛ.kɔŋk/
* Audio:(file)
* Rhymes: -ɛkɔŋk
* Syllabification: Me‧kong

### Proper noun

Mekong m
* Mekong (a river in Asia)

#### Declension
### Further reading

* Mekong in Polish dictionaries at PWN

## Portuguese
### Proper noun

Mekong m
* Mekong (a river in southeast Asia)