tea
The origin and history of tea.
Etymology
Borrowed into English around the 1650s via Dutch "thee," itself from a southern Chinese (Hokkien) word for the tea plant. Countries that traded tea by sea from that region ended up with "tea"-like words, while those trading overland from northern China got "cha"-like words instead.
Class of 1650
tea first entered the language around 1650.
See the full Class of 1650 →