Where does “chai” come from?
Chai comes from Hindi चाय, from Persian چای, from Chinese 茶葉, literally meaning "tea leaves."
chai (English): A female gypsy; "short for" masala chai, a...
Definitions
- A female gypsy; "short for" masala chai, a...
Ancestry of “chai”, step by step
chai traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Romani ćhaj
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Romani | ćhaj | female equivalent of ćhavo: Romani girl; daughter |
| 2 | Romani | ćhavo | Romani boy; kid; son |
| 3 | Sauraseni Prakrit | 𑀙𑀸𑀯 | — |
| 4 | Sanskrit | शावक | the young one of an animal |
| 5 | Sanskrit | क | interrogative pronoun; who, what, which; a name;... |
| 6 | Sanskrit | कम् | to wish, desire, long for; to love, be in love... |
| 7 | Sanskrit | काम | wish, desire, longing; love, affection, object of... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-Iranian | káHmas | wish, desire |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | kóh₂-mo-s | — |
| 10 | Proto-Indo-European | keh₂- | to desire, wish |
via Russian чай
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Russian | чай | tea; tea plant; methinks, must be, may be,... |
| 2 | Ottoman Turkish | چای | tea; rivulet |
| 3 | Persian | چای | tea |
| 4 | Hindi | चाय | tea; cup of tea |
| 5 | Middle Chinese | 茶 | — |
| 6 | Chinese | 茶 | tea |
| 7 | Proto-Loloish | la¹ | tea |
| 8 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | s-la | leaf; tea; flat object |
via Hebrew חַי
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hebrew | חַי | life; alive |