tea

Etymology 1
First appears c. 1655, in the writings of. From, from , from , ultimately from. Introduced to English and other Western European languages by the, who sourced their tea in ; compare 🇨🇬 along the same trade route. (and, distantly, the first element of ), from same Proto-Sino-Tibetan root; see discussion of 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. ) are derived from Min Nan tê, while forms with a fricative (e.g. ) are derived from other Sinitic languages, like Mandarin chá or Cantonese caa4 (all written as ). 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 ; despite being by ocean trade, their source was in, 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 and.

(“information, especially gossip”) is originally from T standing for, which evolved into tea.

Noun

 * 1)   The tea plant ;  a variety of this plant.
 * 2)   The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant;  a variety of such leaves.
 * 3)   The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water.
 * 4)  Any drink which is similar to  tea in some way:
 * 5)   Any similar drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
 * 6)   Meat stock served as a hot drink.
 * 7)   A cup or  glass of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, and/or tapioca pearls.
 * 8)   A light midafternoon meal, typically but not necessarily including tea.
 * , the main evening meal, whether or not it includes tea.
 * 1)   The break in play between the second and third sessions.
 * 2) * 1947 March 11,, letter:
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * 1)   Meat stock served as a hot drink.
 * 2)   A cup or  glass of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, and/or tapioca pearls.
 * 3)   A light midafternoon meal, typically but not necessarily including tea.
 * , the main evening meal, whether or not it includes tea.
 * 1)   The break in play between the second and third sessions.
 * 2) * 1947 March 11,, letter:
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * , the main evening meal, whether or not it includes tea.
 * 1)   The break in play between the second and third sessions.
 * 2) * 1947 March 11,, letter:
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * 1) * 1947 March 11,, letter:
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * 1) * 1947 March 11,, letter:
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.
 * 1)   Information, especially gossip.

Usage notes
In most places is assumed to mean hot tea, while in the southern United States, it is assumed to mean.

Synonyms

 * see Thesaurus:tea
 * see & Thesaurus:meal
 * see Thesaurus:tea
 * see & Thesaurus:meal
 * see & Thesaurus:meal

Hyponyms

 * see Thesaurus:tea

Verb

 * 1)  To drink tea.
 * 2)  To take afternoon tea.
 * 3)  To give tea to.
 * 1)  To take afternoon tea.
 * 2)  To give tea to.
 * 1)  To give tea to.
 * 1)  To give tea to.

Etymology 2
.

Noun

 * 1) A moment, a historical unit of time from China, about the amount of time needed to quickly drink a traditional cup of tea. It is now found in Chinese-language historical fiction.

Usage notes
This term is found in English translations of Chinese-language historical fiction, where it is used to give the work an ancient Chinese feel.

Noun

 * 1) feces; excrement

Etymology 1
From (13th century, ), from. Cognate with 🇨🇬 and 🇨🇬.

Noun

 * 1)  cloth
 * 2)  a piece of cloth
 * 3) spiderweb
 * 4) canvas
 * 5) film
 * 1) canvas
 * 2) film
 * 1) film

Etymology 2
From (13th century, ), from, from.

Noun

 * 1) torch

Etymology
From, from.

Etymology
From. Compare 🇨🇬 and 🇨🇬.

Adjective

 * 1) white
 * 2) light-coloured
 * 3) clear, transparent
 * 1) clear, transparent

Noun

 * 1) dawn

Noun

 * 1) water
 * 2) body of water: river, lake, etc
 * 3) liquid
 * 4) wine

Etymology
, early monophthongized variant of.

Noun

 * 1) torch
 * 2)  intoxication, drunkenness
 * 1)  intoxication, drunkenness
 * 1)  intoxication, drunkenness
 * 1)  intoxication, drunkenness