chai

Where does the word "chai" come from? It comes from Chinese cha, passing through Persian/Hindi before entering English (1900s).

Chai’s story begins in Chinese: cha meant “tea.” The word for tea, carried overland along trade routes into Central and South Asia. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Persian/Hindi as chai. Adopted across Persia and South Asia for spiced, milky tea. It reached English by 1900s as chai. Masala chai spread in India after the British-run Tea Board promoted tea drinking in the 1900s. Today, chai means a spiced tea drink, typically prepared with milk, popular in South Asia.

1. Stage 1 · Chinese · ancient cha "tea", the word for tea, carried overland along trade routes into Central and South Asia.
2. Stage 2 · Persian/Hindi · medieval chai "spiced tea", adopted across Persia and South Asia for spiced, milky tea.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s chai "a spiced tea drink, often with milk", masala chai spread in India after the British-run Tea Board promoted tea drinking in the 1900s.