kimchi

Where does the word "kimchi" come from? It comes from Korean chim-chae, passing through Korean before entering English (1900s).

Kimchi’s story begins in Korean: chim-chae meant “soaked vegetables.” Meaning "soaked vegetables", an early term for fermented, salted vegetables. Within Korean, it grew into kimchi by medieval. Evolved into the modern word for spiced, fermented cabbage. It reached English by 1900s as kimchi. Seoul's 1988 Olympics introduced kimchi to many visitors. Today, kimchi means a spicy, fermented Korean dish typically made from cabbage.

1. Stage 1 · Korean · medieval chim-chae "soaked vegetables", meaning "soaked vegetables", an early term for fermented, salted vegetables.
2. Stage 2 · Korean · medieval kimchi "fermented, spiced cabbage", evolved into the modern word for spiced, fermented cabbage.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1900s kimchi "a spicy, fermented Korean side dish", Seoul's 1988 Olympics introduced kimchi to many visitors.