Chai
/tʃaɪ/noun
Tea, especially spiced tea prepared with milk in South Asian and global usage.
Did you know?The word spread west through Persian and Hindi/Urdu from Chinese cha, and it’s one of the clearest examples of a tea-name that traveled by trade routes rather than by translation.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Sinitic
茶
“tea”
Middle Chinese
MC
dra / tʂa
“tea”
Persian
fa
چای
“tea”
Hindi/Urdu
hi/ur
चाय / چائے
“tea”
Modern English
en
chai
“tea, especially spiced tea”