tea
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tea¹
- /tiː/ UK
- [tʰɪj ~ tʰiː] UK
- /ti/ US
- [tʰi] US
Sounds like T, te, tee, ti · Rhymes with -iː
Where it comes from
First appears c. 1655, in the English translation Álvaro Semedo’s writings. 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, noun sense 12 (“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.
noun teas · tay
- The tea plant (Camellia sinensis); (countable) a variety of this plant. Darjeeling tea is grown in India.
- The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant; (countable) a variety of such leaves. Go to the supermarket and buy some Darjeeling tea.
- The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water. Would you like some tea?
- Specifically sweet tea, an iced tea supersaturated with sugar.
- Any drink which is similar to Camellia sinensis tea in some way Mushroom Tea / 8 cups water / 1 cup dried reishi mushroom pieces [...] 1. Start by making Reishi Mushroom Tea: Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan. 2. Add the reishi mushroom pieces[…]
-
Any similar drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
camomile tea; mint tea
Similar: herbal tea, herb tea, tisane
- Meat stock served as a hot drink. beef tea
- A cup of any of these drinks, often with milk, sugar, lemon, or tapioca pearls. We'd like one tea and one coffee, please.
- A glass of these drinks.
-
A light midafternoon meal, typically but not necessarily including tea.
I won't make it to the breakfast event, but I'll see you at the tea.
Similar: afternoon tea & Thesaurus:meal
-
Synonym of supper, the main evening meal, whether or not it includes the drink tea.
The family were sitting round the table, eating their tea.
Similar: supper
- The break in play between the second and third sessions. Australia were 490 for 7 at tea on the second day.
-
Synonym of marijuana.
So they were evidence. Evidence of what? That a man occasionally smoked a stick of tea, a man who looked as if any touch of the exotic would appeal to him. On the other hand lots of tough guys smoked marijuana […].
Similar: marijuana
- Information, especially gossip. Spill the tea on that drama, hon.
Similar: tea plant, tea tree, tea bush, tea leaves, herb tea, herbal tea, infusion, tisane, cha, char, Rosie, Rosie Lee, Rosy, Rosy Lee, tay, tea, wet and warm
verb teas · teaing · teaed · tea'd
- To drink tea. We tea’d with May, and had to wait over an hour for a taxi!
- To take afternoon tea (a light meal). The wind was high and the hills ditto, and both being against us we were late in reaching Hitchin (30 from Cambridge), so giving up the idea of reaching Oxford we toiled on through Luton, on to Dunstable (47), where we teaed moderately […]
- To give tea to. And they’ve got Professor Hummums with ’em, the great Everlasting Star of the Nineteenth Century, which he has breakfasted and dined and tea’d and supped here ever since yesterday.
adjective more tea · most tea · tay
- Good-looking, sexy.
tea²
Where it comes from
Semantic loan from Chinese 茶 (chá, “tea”).
Tea³
proper noun
- A city in South Dakota.
TEA⁴
noun TEAs
- Initialism of training and employment agency
- Acronym of triethylaluminium
- Abbreviation of triethylamine
- Abbreviation of triethanolamine
adjective
- Acronym of taxed enough already
proper noun
- Acronym of The Elm Architecture
- Acronym of Tiny Encryption Algorithm
- Acronym of Texas Education Agency Hinojosa presented state budget data going back to 2016 that she said shows TEA has grown by about 50% over the last decade under Gov. Greg Abbott, while the percentage of students who pass the state’s assessment tests has declined.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: tea leaf, afternoon tea, teatime, camellia sinensis, oolong, pekoe, hyson, cha, coffee, brew, teacup, cup, teaspoon, kitchen, kettle, restaurant
Translations
Every language
noun dried leaves of tea plant
| Español | hoja de té |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 차 cha, 찻잎 channip, 다엽 dayeop |
| 日本語 | 茶葉 chaba, 茶 cha |
| 中文 | 茶葉 /茶叶 cháyè, 茶 chá |
| हिन्दी | चायपत्ती cāypattī |
| Kiswahili | chai |
| Português | folha de chá |
| Français | thé |
| Deutsch | Teeblatt, Teeblätter, Tee |
| Italiano | tè |
| Ελληνικά | τσάι tsái |
| Română | ceai |
| Русский | чай čaj |
| Tiếng Việt | trà, chè, lá trà, lá chè |
| العربية | شَاي šāy |
| עברית | עלי תה aléi té |
noun drink made from leaves of tea plant
| Español | té, cha |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 차 cha |
| 日本語 | 茶 cha, お茶 o-cha, ティー tī, 上がり agari, 上がり花 agaribana, 出花 debana |
| 中文 | 茶 chá, 茶水 cháshuǐ |
| हिन्दी | चाय cāy |
| Kiswahili | chai |
| Português | chá |
| Français | thé |
| Deutsch | Tee |
| Italiano | tè |
| Ελληνικά | τσάι tsái |
| Română | ceai |
| Русский | чай čaj |
| Tiếng Việt | trà, chè, nước trà, nước chè |
| العربية | شَاي šāy |
| עברית | תֵּה te |
noun drink made from other plants
| Español | té, cha |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 茶 cha |
| हिन्दी | काढ़ा kāṛhā |
| Português | infusão |
| Français | tisane |
| Deutsch | Tee |
| Italiano | tisana |
| Română | ceai |
| Русский | чай čaj |
| العربية | شَاي šāy |
| עברית | תה צמחים té tsmahim |
noun cup of drink made from other plants
| 한국어 | 차 cha |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 茶 cha, お茶 o-cha |
| Português | chá |
| Italiano | tisana |
| Română | ceai, ceașcă de ceai |
| Русский | ча́шка ча́я čáška čája, ча́шка ча́ю čáška čáju |
| العربية | فِنْجَان شَاي finjān šāy |
| עברית | ספל תה צמחים séfel té tsmahim |
noun cup of this drink
| Español | taza de té |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 차 한 잔 cha han jan |
| 日本語 | お茶一杯 o-cha ippai |
| Português | xícara de chá |
| Français | tasse de thé |
| Deutsch | Tasse Tee |
| Italiano | tè |
| Română | ceai, ceașcă de ceai |
| Русский | ча́шка ча́я čáška čája, ча́шка ча́ю čáška čáju |
| Tiếng Việt | chén trà, chén chè |
| العربية | فِنْجَان شَاي finjān šāy |
| עברית | ספל תה séfel té |
Talk about this word "tea." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/tea. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. tea. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/tea "tea." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/tea.Cite this
@misc{tea_2026,
title = {tea},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/tea},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
