Where does “чай” come from?

чай (Russian) comes from Ottoman Turkish چای, from Persian چای, from Hindi चाय, from Middle Chinese 茶, from Chinese 茶, from Proto-Loloish la¹, from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la — leaf; tea; flat object.

чай (Russian): tea; tea plant; methinks, must be, may be,...

Definitions

  1. tea; tea plant; methinks, must be, may be,...

Ancestry of “чай”, step by step

чай traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Ottoman Turkish چای

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Ottoman Turkishچایtea; rivulet
2Persianچایtea
3Hindiचायtea; cup of tea
4Middle Chinese茶—
5Chinese茶tea
6Proto-Loloishla¹tea
7Proto-Sino-Tibetans-laleaf; tea; flat object

via Russian ча́ять

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Russianча́ятьto expect, to hope
2Proto-Slavicčàjatito expect, to wait

Words derived from “чай”

Every word from Proto-Sino-Tibetan s-la →Every word from Proto-Loloish la¹ →Every word from Chinese 茶 →