Chay

/tʃeɪ/ noun

Definition

Tea, or a light horse-drawn carriage used in South Asia (also called a chaise).

Etymology

From Hindi चाय (chāy) meaning tea, which comes from Chinese via Portuguese traders. Alternatively, from French chaise meaning chair, referring to the carriage type.

Kelly Says

The word 'chay' captures the Silk Road and colonial trade perfectly—the tea meaning traveled from China to India to Europe, while the carriage meaning shows how European words got Indian phonetic makeovers.

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