Tea

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English

Noun

Tea (countable and uncountable; plural Teas)
File:Cup of tea, Scotland.jpg
A cup of tea. (2,3)
  1. (uncountable) The dried leaves or buds of the tea plant, Camellia sinensis.
    Go to the supermarket and buy some tea.
  2. (uncountable) The drink made by infusing these dried leaves or buds in hot water.
    Would you like some tea?
  3. (countable) A variety of the tea plant
    Darjeeling is a tea from India.
  4. (uncountable) By extension, any drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
    camomile tea
  5. (countable) (UK, Canada, 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.
  6. (countable) (regional, US, (southern)) A glass of iced tea, typically served with ice cubes and sometimes with a slice or wedge of lemon.
  7. (UK) (uncountable) A light meal eaten mid-afternoon, typically with tea.
    Kids, your tea’s on the table!
  8. (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.
  9. (cricket) The break in play between the second and third sessions.
    Australia were 490 for 7 at tea on the second day.
  10. (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.
    • 1947, William Burroughs, letter, 11 Mar 1947:
      Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.

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

Derived terms

Verb

Tea (third-person singular simple present Teas, present participle Teaing, simple past and past participle Teaed)

  1. To drink tea
  2. To take afternoon tea (the light meal)

Adjectives for Tea

numberless (pi); well-creamed; smuggled; elemental; contraband; rare; licorice; softened; melodious; perfumed; fragrant; aphrodisiac.

Verbs

abstain from—; addict to—; brew—; concoct—; dispatch—; dispense—; drain—; entertain at—; flavor—; gulp—; ice—; imbibe—; import—; quaff—; sip—; spice—; strain—; sweeten—; swill down—; —appeases; —moistens; —quenches; —revives; —simmers; —stimulates; —thickens.

Thesaurus

DET, DMT, LSD, Mary, Mary Jane, STP, THC, TV dinner, acid, afternoon tea, alfresco meal, antidepressant, ataractic, barbecue, boo, breakfast, brunch, buffet supper, cannabis, clambake, coffee break, cookout, diethyltryptamine, dimethyltryptamine, diner, dinner, elevenses, fish fry, gage, ganja, grass, hallucinogen, hash, hashish, hay, hemp, high tea, hot luncheon, joint, kava, lunch, luncheon, marijuana, mash, meat breakfast, mescal, mescal bean, mescal button, mescaline, mind-altering drug, mind-blowing drug, mind-expanding drug, morning glory seeds, petit dejeuner, peyote, picnic, pot, psilocin, psilocybin, psychedelic, psychic energizer, psychoactive drug, psychochemical, psychotomimetic, reefer, roach, stick, supper, tea break, tea party, teatime, tiffin, tranquilizer, weed, wiener roast, wienie roast

Etymology

Originally from Min Nan (POJ: tê, Chinese: , 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 exported as “chai” to many of the Indo-Iranian languages, as well as Russian and Arabic.

"The World Atlas of Language Structures Online" has a special chapter dedicated to the origin of the word for tea in different languages: [1]

Pronunciation

Translations

Noun

The translations below need to be checked.

Anagrams


Estonian

Proper noun

Tea

  1. A female given name.

Etymology

Short form of Dorotea (Dorothea). Cognate with Scandinavian and English Thea.

Related terms


Finnish

Proper noun

Tea

  1. A female given name shortened from Dorotea ( =Dorothea).

Pronunciation

  • IPA: [ˈteɑ]
  • Hyphenation: Te‧a

Declension

Related terms

Anagrams


Galician

Noun

Tea f. (plural Teas)

  1. cloth

Hungarian

Noun

Tea (plural teák)

  1. tea

Pronunciation

  • IPA: /ˈtɛjɒ/
  • Hyphenation: tea

Declension

Derived terms

Compound words

Maori

Adjective

Tea

  1. white