Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1650s
Tea
from tê (Hokkien pronunciation of 茶)
- Meaning
- The infusion of Camellia sinensis leaves.
- Source word
- tê (Hokkien pronunciation of 茶)
- Route into English
- Hokkien speakers in Xiamen traded with the Dutch — who carried both the leaf and the pronunciation west. Portuguese traders in Macau instead took the Mandarin *chá*, which is why every language today says either "tea" or "cha" depending on which route reached it.
- Arrived
- 1650s
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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