Where does “чай” come from?

чай (Southern Altai) comes 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 (Southern Altai): tea

Definitions

  1. tea

Ancestry of “чай”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Persianچایtea
2Hindiचायtea; cup of tea
3Middle Chinese茶—
4Chinese茶tea
5Proto-Loloishla¹tea
6Proto-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 →