tea
Definitions
General English
- noun a drink made from hot water which has been poured onto the dried leaves of a tropical plant
- noun the dried leaves of a tropical plant used to make a warm drink
- noun a meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening
Agriculture
- noun the dried leaves of one or more shrubs of the Camellia family, of which the commonest is Camelia sinensis
Food
- noun a hot drink made by pouring boiling water onto the dried leaves of an Asian plant
- noun the dried leaves of an Asian plant used for making a hot drink
- noun the dried leaves or flowers of other plants, used for making a drink
- noun a meal taken in the afternoon, usually between 4 and 5 o’clock
Medical
- noun the dried leaves of a plant used to make a hot drink
Travel
- noun the dried leaves or flowers of other plants, used to make a drink
Slang
- symbolT
Origin & History of “tea”
English acquired tea via Dutch thee and Malay teh from te, the word for ‘tea’ in the Amoy dialect of Chinese, from southeast China (the mandarin Chinese version of the word is chá, from which English got cha (17th c.)). It was originally pronounced /tay/ as well as /tee/, but it was the latter which eventually won out.
