Where does “çaj” come from?
çaj (Albanian) comes from Ottoman Turkish چای, from Persian چای, from Hindi चाय, from Middle Chinese 茶, from Chinese 茶, from Proto-Loloish la¹, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la — leaf; tea; flat object.
çaj (Albanian): tea; to split, cleave; to smash, batter
Definitions
- tea; to split, cleave; to smash, batter
Ancestry of “çaj”, step by step
çaj traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Ottoman Turkish چای
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ottoman Turkish | چای | tea; rivulet |
| 2 | Persian | چای | tea |
| 3 | Hindi | चाय | tea; cup of tea |
| 4 | Middle Chinese | 茶 | — |
| 5 | Chinese | 茶 | tea |
| 6 | Proto-Loloish | la¹ | tea |
| 7 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | s-la | leaf; tea; flat object |
via Albanian çanj
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albanian | çanj | — |
| 2 | Proto-Albanian | štšenja | to cleave, split |
| 3 | Proto-Indo-European | sked-n-ie/o | — |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | sked- | to cut, hack; to cover |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |