Tea Definition
See also Tea, and TEA
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English
Etymology
Originally from the Chinese Min Nan topolect (POJ: tê, Chinese: 茶, bitmap: 20px), the word was brought to the west by the Dutch East India Company with the spelling thee. Many Western languages have this pronunciation at the root of their words for tea. The word for tea in other Chinese dialects such as Mandarin (Pinyin: chá) and Cantonese (Yale: cha4) was also exported as “chai” to many of the Indo-Iranian languages, Russian and Arabic.
Pronunciation
- enPR: tē, IPA: /tiː/, SAMPA: /ti:/
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Audio (US) (file) -
Audio (UK) (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- Homophones: T, te, tee, ti
Noun
tea (countable and uncountable; plural teas)
A cup of tea. (2,3)- (uncountable) The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.
- Go to the supermarket and buy some tea.
- (uncountable) The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water.
- Would you like some tea?
- (uncountable) By extension, any drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
- camomile tea
- (countable) (UK, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Commonwealth of Nations, US, (northern)) A cup of any one of these drinks, often with a small amount of milk or cream added and sweetened with sugar or honey.
- (countable) (regional, US, (southern)) A glass of iced tea, typically served with ice cubes and sometimes with a slice or wedge of lemon.
- (UK) (uncountable) A light meal eaten mid-afternoon, typically with tea.
- Kids, your tea’s on the table!
- (New Zealand, UK, Australian) (uncountable) The main evening meal, irrespective of whether tea is drunk with it.
- The family were sitting round the table, having their tea.
- (cricket) The break in play between the second and third sessions.
- Australia were 490 for 7 at tea on the second day.
- (slang) (dated) Marijuana.
- 1946, Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, Payback Press 1999, p. 74:
- Tea puts a musician in a real masterly sphere, and that's why so many jazzmen have used it.
- 1946, Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, Payback Press 1999, p. 74:
Usage notes
In the United Kingdom, Canada, other English speaking Commonwealth countries, and in northern areas of the United States, tea is assumed to mean hot tea and is usually served in a teapot with separate cups, or sometimes served directly in cups such as for large groups or for takeout.
In southern areas of the United States, tea is assumed to mean iced tea and is usually served with ice, either in a pitcher with separate glasses or directly in glasses.
Strictly speaking, "tea" has been reserved for infusions made from leaves of Camellia sinensis. Infusions made from other herbs such as rooibos, mint, and chamomile are called tisanes. In recent years the word "tea" has been extended to include the herbal infusions.
Synonyms
- (dried leaves of tea plant): tea leaves
- (drink made by infusing parts of various other plants): herb tea, herbal tea, infusion, tisane
Derived terms
Derived termsVerb
to tea (third-person singular simple present teas, present participle teaing, simple past and past participle teaed)
- To drink tea
- To take afternoon tea (the light meal)
Anagrams
Galician
Noun
tea f. (plural teas)
Hungarian
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈtɛjɒ/
- Hyphenation: tea
Noun
tea (plural teák)
Declension
declension of tea
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possessives of tea
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Derived terms
Maori
Adjective
tea
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