soy

Where does the word "soy" come from? It comes from Chinese shi, passing through Japanese and Dutch before entering English (1700s).

Soy’s story begins in Chinese: shi meant “fermented soybean paste.” A fermented soybean paste. By medieval, the word had taken hold in Japanese as shōyu. The Japanese term for the fermented sauce. From there it passed into Dutch as soja by 1600s-1700s. Brought to Europe by Dutch traders in Japan. It reached English by 1700s as soy. Adapted from the Dutch form. Today, soy means a bean used to make food products like soy sauce and tofu, or the sauce itself.

1. Stage 1 · Chinese · ancient shi "fermented soybean paste", a fermented soybean paste.
2. Stage 2 · Japanese · medieval shōyu "soy sauce", the Japanese term for the fermented sauce.
3. Stage 3 · Dutch · 1600s-1700s soja "soy sauce", brought to Europe by Dutch traders in Japan.
4. Stage 4 · English · 1700s soy "the soybean or its sauce", adapted from the Dutch form.