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Chicha

3 stages from Kuna to English.

Today it means a traditional fermented (or unfermented) beverage made from maize or fruit, popular across Latin America

Where does the word "chicha" come from? It comes from Kuna chichab, passing through Spanish before entering English (1600s-1900s).

1
Stage 1 of 3
chichab
Kuna · pre-1500s
"maize"
meant 'maize', the base ingredient of a fermented beverage made by peoples of Panama and Colombia
2
Stage 2 of 3
chicha
Spanish · 1500s
"a fermented maize or fruit beverage"
adopted broadly by Spanish colonists as a generic term for indigenous fermented beverages
3
Stage 3 of 3
chicha
English · 1600s-1900s
"a traditional fermented maize or fruit drink"
borrowed into English through travel and anthropological writing on Latin America
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