Where does “čaj” come from?

čaj (Upper Sorbian) comes from Turkish çay, 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.

Ancestry of “čaj”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Turkishçaytea; a small river
2Ottoman Turkishچایtea; rivulet
3Persianچایtea
4Hindiचायtea; cup of tea
5Middle Chinese茶—
6Chinese茶tea
7Proto-Loloishla¹tea
8Proto-Sino-Tibetans-laleaf; tea; flat object

Words derived from “čaj”

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