kombucha

Where does the word "kombucha" come from? It comes from Japanese kombucha, and was adopted directly into English (1944).

Kombucha’s story begins in Japanese: kombucha meant “a fermented tea drink.” Possibly from a mistranslation, though used in Japanese for the fermented tea drink. It reached English by 1944 as kombucha. In Japanese 'kombucha' means kelp tea; the fermented drink got the name by confusion. Today, kombucha means a fizzy, fermented tea beverage made using a culture of bacteria and yeast.

1. Stage 1 · Japanese · 1900s kombucha "a fermented tea drink", possibly from a mistranslation, though used in Japanese for the fermented tea drink.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1944 kombucha "a fizzy, fermented tea beverage", in Japanese 'kombucha' means kelp tea; the fermented drink got the name by confusion.