tea

Pronunciation

• IPA: /tiː/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Dutch thee,^[2][3] which came through Malay teh or directly from Hokkien 茶 (tê), in the Amoy dialect of Chinese,^[3][4][5] which corresponds to Mandarin Chinese 茶 (chá).^[3][4][2] The earlier form chaa (1590s) came from Portuguese chá, via Macao, from the Mandarin form.^[3][4] The Dutch, chief importers of the leaves in western Europe through the Dutch East India Company from 1610, spread the Amoy form: French thé, Spanish té, German Tee.^[3][4] Russian chai, Persian chā, Greek tsai, Arabic šāy and Turkish çay came by overland trade routes from the Mandarin form.^[3][4][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

As chaa, 1598 in the OED and Barnhart, from the Portuguese;^[7][4] as tay, 1655, of the prepared leaves of the tea plant and the drink made from them.^[4][3][5]

Semantic evolution

Tea was known in Paris by 1635, and drinking it was introduced in England by 1644;^[3] the OED dates its introduction to 1650–55, perhaps by the Dutch.^[4] It was first pronounced to rhyme with obey and pay, as in Pope's Rape of the Lock (1711) and Gay's Trivia (1720);^[3][6] the modern pronunciation prevailed from the mid-18th century.^[3][6] The word was extended to the plant itself in the 1660s,^[3] the OED's first example being from 1663,^[7] and to similar infusions of other plants.^[3] A meal or social gathering at which tea is served is from 1738.^[3][7] The slang sense “marijuana” is from 1935, and was felt as obsolete by the late 1960s.^[3] Tea and sympathy is from 1956.^[7]

Timeline

• 1598 – chaa.^[7][4]
• 1655 – tay.^[4]
• 1663 – the tea plant.^[7]
• 1738 – an afternoon meal.^[3][7]
• mid-18th century – modern pronunciation.^[3]
• 1812 – verb, to entertain with tea.^[7]
• 1935 – marijuana.^[3]
• 1956 – tea and sympathy.^[7]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. An evergreen shrub of eastern Asia, Camellia sinensis, grown for its leaves.
2. The dried leaves of this plant, or the hot drink made by infusing them.
3. A similar drink made from other plants: herbal tea.
4. (chiefly British) A light afternoon meal, or an evening meal.
5. An afternoon social gathering at which tea is served.

Word family

• tealike
• tealess

Related words

• chai
• cha

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c Yule, Henry; Burnell, A. C. (1903), Hobson-Jobson: A Glossary of Colloquial Anglo-Indian Words and Phrases, new ed. by William Crooke, London: John Murray
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press