Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1900s
Chow mein
from 炒麵 (chǎo miàn)
- Meaning
- Stir-fried Chinese noodles.
- Source word
- 炒麵 (chǎo miàn)
- Route into English
- Mandarin *chǎo miàn* ("fried noodle") → English via the same Chinese-American restaurant wave as chop suey. Often anglicised with crispy noodles in the US, where it diverged from Cantonese tradition.
- Arrived
- 1900s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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