Where does “чай” come from?

чай (Bulgarian) 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.

чай (Bulgarian): tea

Definitions

  1. tea

Ancestry of “чай”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishچایtea; rivulet
2Persianچایtea
3Hindiचायtea; cup of tea
4Middle Chinese茶—
5Chinese茶tea
6Proto-Loloishla¹tea
7Proto-Sino-Tibetans-laleaf; tea; flat object
Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la →Every word from Proto-Loloish la¹ →Every word from Chinese 茶 →