Tet
/tɛt/noun
The Vietnamese Lunar New Year festival, usually celebrated in late January or February.
Did you know?The 1968 Tet Offensive was launched during the Vietnamese New Year holiday, when an informal expectation of ceasefire made the coordinated attacks especially startling.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese
Old Chinese
節
“A seasonal division, appointed observance, or festival; the character is associated with regulated time and ritual.”
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
tsiet
“A festival, holiday, or calendrical occasion; this pronunciation is the source of later Sino-Vietnamese forms.”
Medieval Vietnamese
Vietnamese
tiết
“A seasonal period or ritual observance, used in expressions for calendrical festivals.”
Modern Vietnamese
Vietnamese
Tết
“The Lunar New Year celebration, especially the Vietnamese New Year festival.”
20th Century
English
Tet
“An English loanword referring to Vietnamese Lunar New Year, later widely associated with the 1968 Tet Offensive.”