Where does “teh” come from?

teh (Malay) comes from Malay putih, from Classical Malay putih, from Proto-Malayic putih, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)putiq — white.

teh (Malay): tea

Definitions

  1. tea

Ancestry of “teh”, step by step

teh traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Malay putih

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Malayputihwhite
2Classical Malayputihwhite
3Proto-Malayicputihwhite
4Proto-Malayo-Polynesian(ma-)putiqwhite

via Hokkien 茶

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hokkien茶—

via Hainanese 茶

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Hainanese茶—

Words derived from “teh”

Every word from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian (ma-)putiq →Every word from Proto-Malayic putih →Every word from Classical Malay putih →