mate

Where does the word "mate" come from? It comes from Quechua mati, passing through Spanish (Rioplatense) before entering English (1800s).

Mate’s story begins in Quechua: mati meant “a small gourd used as a cup.” Named the gourd used as a drinking vessel. By 1600s, the word had taken hold in Spanish (Rioplatense) as mate. Adopted in the Río de la Plata region for both the gourd and the herbal tea drunk from it. It reached English by 1800s as mate. Borrowed into English to describe the South American herbal tea and its vessel. Today, mate means a caffeinated South American herbal tea, traditionally sipped through a metal straw from a hollow gourd.

1. Stage 1 · Quechua · pre-1500s mati "a small gourd used as a cup", named the gourd used as a drinking vessel.
2. Stage 2 · Spanish (Rioplatense) · 1600s mate "a gourd cup, and the tea drunk from it", adopted in the Río de la Plata region for both the gourd and the herbal tea drunk from it.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1800s mate "a caffeinated herbal tea traditionally drunk from a gourd", borrowed into English to describe the South American herbal tea and its vessel.