Where does “čaj” come from?

čaj (Lower Sorbian) comes from Upper Sorbian čaj, from Turkish çay, 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.

čaj (Lower Sorbian): tea

Definitions

  1. tea

Ancestry of “čaj”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Upper Sorbiančaj—
2Turkishçaytea; a small river
3Ottoman Turkishچایtea; rivulet
4Persianچایtea
5Hindiचायtea; cup of tea
6Middle Chinese茶—
7Chinese茶tea
8Proto-Loloishla¹tea
9Proto-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 →