LAO

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does Lao mean? 

• LAO (noun)
  The noun LAO has 2 senses:

1. 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

2. the Tai language of a Buddhist people living in the area of the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos

  Familiarity information: LAO used as a noun is rare.

• LAO (adjective)
  The adjective LAO has 1 sense:

1. of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand

  Familiarity information: LAO used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• LAO (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

Lao; Laotian

Hypernyms ("Lao" is a kind of...):

Asian; Asiatic (a native or inhabitant of Asia)

Holonyms ("Lao" is a member of...):

Lao People's Democratic Republic; Laos (a mountainous landlocked communist state in southeastern Asia; achieved independence from France in 1949)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The Tai language of a Buddhist people living in the area of the Mekong River in Thailand and Laos

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("Lao" is a kind of...):

Tai (the most widespread and best known of the Kadai family of languages)

• LAO (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or relating to a member of the Buddhist people inhabiting the Mekong river in Laos and Thailand

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Pertainym:

Lao (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)

 Context examples 

Denotes the inhabitants of Laos, a person from there, or their descendants elsewhere.

(Laotian, NCI Thesaurus)

That includes roughly 600 million people in Indonesia, Cambodia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Laos and several other nations, mainly in Southeast Asia, the report said.

(Planet-Warming Gases Make Some Food Less Nutritious, Study Says, Steve Baragona/VOA)