The Names for Tea
The original English pronunciation of the word tea was tay and it's
usage can be traced back to around 1655 when the Dutch introduced both word and
beverage to England. This pronunciation can still be heard today in certain
British dialects. The pronunciation tee also originated in the 1600's but only
gained predominance after the late 18th century. Both words may have come from
the Malay teh or the Chinese (Amoy dialect) t'e.
The Tea plant itself:
- Family: Theaceae (tee-AY-see-ee) "The Tea family"
- Genus: Camellia (kuh-MEE-lee-uh -or- kuh-MEEL-yuh ) "Named for Georg Josef Kamel, 17th century Moravian Jesuit missionary"
- Species: Sinensis (sye-NEN-sis) "Of or from China"
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The Mandarin Chinese ch'a is also the origin of tea-terms
found in other languages. Every language's word for tea has its origin in
either of these two Chinese words: t'e or ch'a. The Dutch and the Portuguese,
the original and major importers of tea to Europe and the Middle East, probably
introduced these words (at least into European languages). A table of
t'e-derived and ch'a-derived terms might indicate the Dutch and Portuguese
trading partners of the 17th century: |
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Pronounced "tay" in dialect of Amoy derivations below
Te (Malayan) derivations below
- Tay- English (before the 18th Century), south Fujian
- Tchai - Russian
- Te - Danish, Hebrew(Israeli), Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian,
Spanish, Swedish
- Tea - English (after the 18th Century)
- Tee - Finish, German, Korean
- Teh - Indonesian (Acent on the "e"), Malay
- Teja - Latvian
- Tey - Tamilian
- Thay - Singhalese
- The - French (accent on "e")
- Thee - Dutch
- Thea - Generic, Latin, Scientific
Pronounced "Ch'a" in pure Cantonese derivations below
( Picked early = Cha. Picked late = Ming, or Chuan)
- Cha - Hindu, Japanese, Persian, Portuguese
- Chai - Russian
- Chav - Albanian
- caj (Chay) - Czech, Turkish
- Chaya - Indian
- Ja (Dza)- Tibetan
- Shai - Arabian
- Tsa - Annamese, Vietnamese
- Tsai - Modern Greek