tea English · revision 3747

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1655|origins=nan-hbl 茶}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /tiː/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|nl|thee]],^(Hoad 1986)^(Etymonline) which came through [[ms|teh]] or directly from [[nan-hbl|茶|tr=tê]], in the Amoy dialect of Chinese,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) which corresponds to Mandarin [[zh|茶|tr=chá]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The earlier form chaa (1590s) came from Portuguese chá, via Macao, from the Mandarin form.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) 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.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Russian chai, Persian chā, Greek tsai, Arabic šāy and Turkish çay came by overland trade routes from the Mandarin form.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Yule & Burnell 1903)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ As chaa, 1598 in the OED and Barnhart, from the Portuguese;^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988) as tay, 1655, of the prepared leaves of the tea plant and the drink made from them.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Tea was known in Paris by 1635, and drinking it was introduced in England by 1644;^(Etymonline) the OED dates its introduction to 1650–55, perhaps by the Dutch.^(Barnhart 1988) It was first pronounced to rhyme with ''obey'' and ''pay'', as in Pope's ''Rape of the Lock'' (1711) and Gay's ''Trivia'' (1720);^(Etymonline)^(Yule & Burnell 1903) the modern pronunciation prevailed from the mid-18th century.^(Etymonline)^(Yule & Burnell 1903) The word was extended to the plant itself in the 1660s,^(Etymonline) the OED's first example being from 1663,^(OED 1989) and to similar infusions of other plants.^(Etymonline) A meal or social gathering at which tea is served is from 1738.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The slang sense “marijuana” is from 1935, and was felt as obsolete by the late 1960s.^(Etymonline) ''Tea and sympathy'' is from 1956.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1598 – ''chaa''.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1655 – ''tay''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1663 – the tea plant.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1738 – an afternoon meal.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * mid-18th century – modern pronunciation.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1812 – verb, to entertain with tea.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1935 – marijuana.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1956 – ''tea and sympathy''.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An evergreen [[shrub]] of eastern Asia, Camellia sinensis, grown for its leaves.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The dried leaves of this plant, or the hot drink made by [[infusion|alt=infusing]] them.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A similar drink made from other plants: ''herbal tea''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # ''(chiefly British)'' A light afternoon meal, or an evening meal.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(Collins 2023)

+ # An afternoon social gathering at which tea is served.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[tealike]]

+ * [[tealess]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[chai]]

+ * [[cha]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}