FromProto-Vietic*kac, fromProto-Austroasiatic*kacʔ(“to pluck; to harvest”). Cognate withMuong Bicách,Pacohkéiq(“to pick, to pluck”),Ngeqkɛc,Khmerកាច់(kac,“to break, to snap”),Bahnarkĕch(“to harvest”),Pnarkhait(“to pick”),Kensiukec.Doublet ofgặt(“to harvest”) through aprefixed form.
Unrelated toChinese割 (OC*Cə-kˤat) (SV:cát), although the two are sometimes (incorrectly) considered connected.
The Austroasiatic root*kac originally referred to the action of "plucking" and "breaking", with "cutting" being secondary. Not to be confused with the similar-looking root*kat ~ *kaat(“to cut”), which gave rise toKhmerកាត់(kat) andKorwageɖ.
From earlierbà-cắt, attested inThiên Nam ngữ lục (天南語錄) as𱙘割, the simplified composition of婆 (MC ba) +割 (MC kat) (modernSV:bàcát).