lychee

Etymology

It is borrowed from Chinese 荔枝 (lìzhī),^[2][3][4][5] which the OED and Weekley cite in an older romanization.^[6][7] Collins derives it from the Cantonese pronunciation, 荔枝 (lai chi).^[8] The earliest English forms, of the 16th century, were lechia and lichea.^[9] The French naturalist Pierre Sonnerat first used the word as a scientific name, in 1782, and it is now the botanical name of the genus.^[6][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The fruit of the Chinese tree now called Litchi chinensis: 1588, in R. Parke's translation of Mendoza's history of China.^[6][3] The Shorter Oxford and Collins likewise date it to the late 16th century.^[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word names both the fruit and the tree, which is native to southern China and is grown in many tropical countries.^[6][2] The fruit was long known in Europe dried: Weekley quotes Kipling's "A Canton china bowl of dried lichis".^[7] Its spelling never settled: lychee, litchi, lichee, lichi and leechee are all in use,^[3][8][2] and the OED's first edition (1903) entered the word under litchi.^[6] In the 1990s Hong Kong, and sometimes Shanghai, were called the "Big Lychee", after New York's "Big Apple".^[10]

Timeline

• 1588 – the fruit.^[6][3]
• 1782 – Litchi as a scientific name, by Sonnerat.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. The small round or oval fruit of a Chinese tree, with a rough reddish rind and sweet white pulp around a single large seed, eaten fresh, tinned or dried: a bowl of peeled lychees.^[3][8][2][6]
2. The evergreen tree that bears it, Litchi chinensis, of the soapberry family.^[8][2][3]

Related words

• litchi

Usage notes

The OED records British pronunciations with the first syllable as lie, lee and li, stressed on either syllable, and American /ˈlitʃi/;^[6] Merriam-Webster gives /ˈlē-(ˌ)chē/ first.^[3] Collins and Hoad enter the word under litchi, with lychee as a variant spelling.^[8][9]

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Soanes, Catherine; Stevenson, Angus, eds. (2004), Concise Oxford English Dictionary, 11th ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
7. ^ a b Weekley, Ernest (1921), An Etymological Dictionary of Modern English, London: John Murray
8. ^ a b c d e f Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
9. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
10. ^ Popik, Barry, The Big Apple, barrypopik.com, p. "Big Lychee", 9 June 2005