Where does “saikka” come from?
saikka (Finnish) comes from Finnish tsaiju, from Russian чай, from Ottoman Turkish چای, from Persian چای, from Hindi चाय, from Middle Chinese 茶, from Chinese 茶, from Proto-Loloish la¹ — leaf; tea; flat object.
saikka (Finnish): tea
Ancestry of “saikka”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Finnish | tsaiju | tea |
| 2 | Russian | чай | tea; tea plant; methinks, must be, may be,... |
| 3 | Ottoman Turkish | چای | tea; rivulet |
| 4 | Persian | چای | tea |
| 5 | Hindi | चाय | tea; cup of tea |
| 6 | Middle Chinese | 茶 | — |
| 7 | Chinese | 茶 | tea |
| 8 | Proto-Loloish | la¹ | tea |
| 9 | Proto-Sino-Tibetan | s-la | leaf; tea; flat object |