tea

Where “tea” sits in English frequency

Definition

1. 1
   The tea plant (Camellia sinensis); (countable) a variety of this plant.
2. 2
   The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant; (countable) a variety of such leaves.
3. 3
   The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water.
4. 4
   Specifically sweet tea, an iced tea supersaturated with sugar.
5. 5
   Any drink which is similar to Camellia sinensis tea in some way
6. 6
   Any drink which is similar to Camellia sinensis tea in some way:
7. 7
   Any drink which is similar to Camellia sinensis tea in some way:
8. 8
   A cup of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, or tapioca pearls.
9. 9
   A cup of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, or tapioca pearls.
10. 10
    A light midafternoon meal, typically but not necessarily including tea.
11. 11
    Synonym of supper, the main evening meal, whether or not it includes tea.
12. 12
    The break in play between the second and third sessions.
13. 13
    Synonym of marijuana.
14. 14
    Information, especially gossip.

Etymology

First appears c. 1655, in the writings of Álvaro Semedo. From Dutch thee, from Hokkien 茶 (tê) (Amoy dialect), from Old Chinese, ultimately from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la (“leaf, tea”). Introduced to English and other Western European languages by the Dutch East India Company, who sourced their tea in Amoy; compare Malay teh along the same trade route. Doublet of chai and cha (and, distantly, the first element of lahpet), from same Proto-Sino-Tibetan root; see discussion of cognates. Cognates The word for “tea” in many languages is of Sinitic origin (due to China being the origin of the plant), and thus there are many cognates; see translations. These are from one of two proximate sources, reflected in the phonological shape: forms with a stop (e.g. /t/) are derived from Min Nan tê, while forms with an affricate (e.g. /tʃ/) are derived from other Sinitic languages, like Mandarin chá or Cantonese caa4 (all written as 茶). Different languages borrowed one or the other form (specific language and point in time varied), reflecting trade ties, generally Min Nan tê if by ocean trade from Fujian, Cantonese caa4 if by ocean trade from Guangdong, or northern Chinese chá if by overland trade or by ocean trade from India. Thus Western and Northern European languages borrowed tê (with the exception of Portuguese, which uses chá; despite being by ocean trade, their source was in Macao, not Amoy), while chá borrowings are used over a very large geographical area of Eurasia and Africa: Southern and Eastern Europe, and on through Turkish, Arabic, North and East Africa, Persian, Central Asian, and Indic languages. In Europe the tê/chá line is Italian/Slovene, Hungarian/Romanian, German/Czech, Polish/Ukrainian, Baltics/Russian, Finnish/Karelian, Northern Sami/Inari Sami. tê was also borrowed in European trade stops in Southern India and coastal Africa, though chá borrowings are otherwise more prevalent in these regions, via Arabic or Indic, due to earlier trade. The situation in Southeast Asia is complex due to multiple influences, and some languages borrowed both forms, such as Malay teh and ca. Etymology 1 sense 11 (“information, especially gossip”) may be originally from T standing for truth, which evolved into tea. An alternative explanation dates back to gay African-American culture in the 1970s and alludes to women gossiping over afternoon tea.

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