chin-chin

Etymology

It is borrowed from Chinese 請 (qǐng, “please”), usually doubled,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} a polite expression and a specific use of the verb meaning “to ask, to invite”.^[2] The OED gives both the Cantonese and the Mandarin pronunciation as its source;^[2] older dictionaries romanize the Chinese as “ch’ing-ch’ing”^[3][7] or “ts’ing-ts’ing”.^[8][9] Wiktionary takes it through Chinese Pidgin English chin-chin, from the Shanghainese pronunciation of the same word.^[1] The use as a toast has no direct parallel in Chinese, and the OED suggests it may come from the use of the word to introduce an invitation to drink.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

A respectful greeting or farewell: 1625, in Samuel Purchas's Pilgrimes.^[2] Collins, Dictionary.com and the Oxford Dictionary of English date it only to the late 18th century.^[3][4][5] Weekley quotes William Hickey's Memoirs: “The mandarin went off in high glee, saying “chin, chin” as he departed, which is the common salutation”.^[9]

Semantic evolution

At first it was said with the traditional Chinese gesture of greeting, the hands clasped in front of the chest with a bow; the noun named that gesture from 1822 to 1885, and the verb meant to make it from 1817.^[2] From 1888 the interjection was used as a toast before drinking; the verb followed in 1892.^[2] Merriam-Webster also records the noun for ceremonious talk and then for idle chatter, and the verb for talking casually.^[7] The Shorter Oxford now labels it colloquial.^[6]

Timeline

• 1625 – a respectful greeting or farewell.^[2]
• 1817 – verb, to make the Chinese gesture of greeting.^[2]
• 1822 – noun, the gesture of greeting itself (obsolete by 1885).^[2]
• 1888 – a toast before drinking.^[2]
• 1892 – verb, to say chin-chin as a toast.^[2]

Meanings

Interjection

1. (informal) Used as a toast before drinking: “Chin-chin,” she said, raising her glass.^[3][2][6]
2. Used as a greeting or farewell.^[3][7][2][6]

Noun

1. Ceremonious talk; a salutation.^[7]
2. Casual or idle talk; chatter.^[7]

Verb

1. To greet someone ceremoniously, or to say chin-chin.^[6][2]
2. To talk casually; to chat.^[7]

Usage notes

In Nigerian cooking chin-chin is a snack of small fried pieces of dough, recorded from 1948; the OED treats it as a separate word of uncertain origin, perhaps imitating the sound of crunchy food.^[2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
4. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
5. ^ a b Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
9. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray