Where does “thé noir” come from?

thé noir (French) comes from French thé, from Dutch thee, from Malay teh, from Malay putih, from Classical Malay putih, from Proto-Malayic putih, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)putiq — white.

thé noir (French): black tea

Definitions

  1. black tea

Ancestry of “thé noir”, step by step

thé noir traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via French thé

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchthétea
2Dutchtheetea
3Malaytehtea
4Malayputihwhite
5Classical Malayputihwhite
6Proto-Malayicputihwhite
7Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(ma-)putiqwhite

via French noir

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Frenchnoirblack in colour; drunk; inebriated; black, of...
2Middle Frenchnoirblack
3Old Frenchnoirblack; black; having a black color
4LatinNigerA Roman agnomen, or "nickname"
5Proto-Indo-Europeannegʷ-bare, naked
Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)putiq →