Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1940s
Dim sum
from dímsām
- Meaning
- Small steamed or fried snacks served with tea.
- Source word
- dímsām
- Route into English
- Cantonese *dímsām* (to touch the heart) → English via Chinatown restaurants. The practice is from Cantonese teahouses (*yum cha*); English borrowed the snack name, not the tea name.
- Arrived
- 1940s
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.
Browse the full loanword atlas or explore another source language.