ceai

Forms

ceai m (the plant) or n (plural ceaiuri)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Russian чай (čaj, “tea”), as DELR, MDA2, DEX, Tiktin and Scriban give it.^{[2][3][4][5][6]} Ciorănescu names Ottoman Turkish چای (çay) as the source, after Roesler and Șăineanu, and notes that the Academy dictionary preferred Russian.^[7] Wiktionary also takes it from Ottoman Turkish, possibly through Russian.^[1]

The word is ultimately Chinese: DELR traces the Russian form through Turkic and Mongolian to the northern Chinese word,^[2] and Wiktionary and Nişanyan trace the Turkish word to Persian چای (čāy) < Chinese 茶 (chá).^[1][8] Aromanian has the same loan, ciae;^[7] the Balkan cognates include Modern Greek τσάι (tsái) and Bulgarian чай (čaj).^[7][9] The sense “afternoon party with tea and dancing” follows French thé dansant.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is of 1770.^[2][5] MDA2's first record is a document from before 1771 published in Iorga's Studii și documente.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The word named the shrub, its dried leaves and the drink made from them, and was soon used for infusions of other plants as well, such as lime blossom or camomile.^[10][4] MDA2 records the 19th-century trade names ceai rusesc, tea brought overland from China through Russia, and ceai englezesc, tea brought by sea through England.^[3] From the drink came the time or meal at which it is taken and an afternoon gathering of friends with tea, refreshments and dancing.^[11][4] Scriban defines a reception at which tea is served, and gives a minister's reception as his example.^[6] In slang ceai is a dancing party of young people, and also wine.^[12]

Romanian formed ceainărie “tea room” (1835) and the diminutive ceișor (1895).^[2] Ceainic “teapot” (1779) and the Moldavian ceaină “tea room” (1899) are separate loans from Russian.^[2][7]

Timeline

• 1770 – first record.^[2][5]
• before 1771 – a document in Iorga's Studii și documente.^[3]
• 1779 – ceainic “teapot”, from Russian.^[2]
• 1835 – ceainărie “tea room”.^[2]
• 1888 – ceainicar “keeper of a tea room”.^[2]
• 1895 – the diminutive ceișor.^[2][5]
• 1899 – ceaină “tea room” in Moldavia.^[2]

Meanings

Noun

1. (masculine) The tea shrub (Thea sinensis), grown for its leaves; by restriction, its dried leaves.^[4][3]
2. (neuter) The drink made by steeping or boiling tea leaves, or the infusion of a medicinal plant: ceai de tei “lime-blossom tea”.^[4][10]
3. (neuter) The time or meal, usually in the morning, at which tea is drunk.^[4][11]
4. (neuter) An afternoon gathering of friends at which tea or snacks are served and people dance.^[4][2]

Word family

• ceainărie
• ceișor
• ceiuț

Related words

• ceainic
• ceaină
• Russian чай (čaj)
• Aromanian ciae

Usage notes

The masculine is used for the plant and the neuter, with the plural ceaiuri, for the drink and the gathering.^[4] An older name of the drink was te, from the same Chinese word through another route: Tiktin quotes Drăghici, who invited someone aboard his ship „ca să beaie te sau ceaiu” “to drink tea or ceai”.^[5][3]

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2011–), Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (DELR), vol. I: A–B (2011), vol. II: C (2015–2018), București: Editura Academiei Române; continued online at delr.lingv.ro, p. s.v. ceai
3. ^ a b c d e f Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 1, 349
4. ^ a b c d e f g h DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 165
5. ^ a b c d e Tiktin, Hariton (2000–2005), Rumänisch-deutsches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., revised by Paul Miron and Elsa Lüder, 3 vols., Cluj-Napoca: Clusium, p. s.v. ceai
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1, 253
7. ^ a b c d Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. ceai
8. ^ Nişanyan, Sevan, Nişanyan Sözlük: Çağdaş Türkçenin Etimolojisi (online edition)
9. ^ Babiniotis, Georgios (2010), Ετυμολογικό λεξικό της νέας ελληνικής γλώσσας [Etymological Dictionary of Modern Greek], Athens: Κέντρο Λεξικολογίας
10. ^ a b Macrea, Dimitrie; Petrovici, Emil (coord.) (1955–1957), Dicționarul limbii romîne literare contemporane, 4 vols., București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 379
11. ^ a b Academia Republicii Populare Romîne (1958), Dicționarul limbii romîne moderne, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 1, 130
12. ^ Volceanov, George (2007), Dicționar de argou al limbii române, București: Niculescu, p. s.v. ceai