Where does “soya” come from?

soya (Turkish) comes from Japanese soya, from Japanese 醤油, from Middle Chinese 醬油, from Middle Chinese 醬 — bean paste.

soya (Turkish): soy, soybean, any legume of the species Glycine max widely cultivated for human consumption

Definitions

soy, soybean, any legume of the species Glycine max widely cultivated for human consumption

soya traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Japanese	soya	—
2	Japanese	醤油	soy sauce
3	Middle Chinese	醬油	—
4	Middle Chinese	醬	bean paste

Step	Language	Word	Meaning
1	Ottoman Turkish	صویا	penknife, clasp-knife, pocketknife
2	Greek	σουγιάς	penknife, pocketknife UK