- My thoughts always wander to the written word while I sip my afternoon cup of tea. So it seemed appropriate to explore what was beyond the leaves and behind the word. In order to quench my mental thirst I searched the Online Etymology Dictionary and learned this about the origins of “Tea”:
- 1655, earlier chaa (1598, from Port. cha), from Malay teh and directly from Chinese (Amoy dialect) t’e, in Mandarin ch’a. The distribution of the different forms of the word reflects the spread of use of the beverage. The modern Eng. form, along with Fr. the, Sp. te, Ger. Tee, etc., derive via Du. thee from the Amoy form, reflecting the role of the Dutch as the chief importers of the leaves (through the Dutch East India Company, from 1610). First known in Paris 1635, the practice of drinking tea was first introduced to England 1644. The Port. word (attested from 1559) came via Macao; and Rus. chai, Pers. cha, Gk. tsai, Arabic shay and Turk. çay all came overland from the Mandarin form. Meaning “afternoon meal at which tea is served” is from 1738. Tea bag first recorded 1940; tea ball is from 1895.
- To state it simply, “tea” is culturally complex and incredibly fascinating! It’s amazing to see how the Chinese “t’e” evolved into the Dutch “thee,” which would eventually become our “tea” due to their strong presence in the tea trading business at that time.
Tagged: history of tea, history of the word tea, origin of tea, origin of word tea, tea