Tea
English
Noun
Tea (countable and uncountable; plural Teas)- (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?
- (countable) A variety of the tea plant
- Darjeeling is a tea from India.
- (uncountable) By extension, any drink made by infusing parts of various other plants.
- camomile tea
- (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.
- (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.
- 1947, William Burroughs, letter, 11 Mar 1947:
- Here in Texas possession of tea is a felony calling for 2 years.
- 1946, Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Really the Blues, Payback Press 1999, p. 74:
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
Verb
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)
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: 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 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
- enPR: tē, IPA: /tiː/, SAMPA: /ti:/
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Audio (US) noicon (file) -
Audio (UK) noicon (file) - Rhymes: -iː
- Homophones: T, te, tee, ti
Translations
Noun
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- The translations below need to be checked.
Anagrams
Estonian
Proper noun
Tea
- A female given name.
Etymology
Short form of Dorotea (“Dorothea”). Cognate with Scandinavian and English Thea.
Related terms
Finnish
Proper noun
Tea
- A female given name shortened from Dorotea ( =Dorothea).
Pronunciation
- IPA: [ˈteɑ]
- Hyphenation: Te‧a
Declension
Declension of Tea (type kala)
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Related terms
Anagrams
Galician
Noun
Tea f. (plural Teas)
Hungarian
Noun
Tea (plural teák)
Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˈtɛjɒ/
- Hyphenation: tea
Declension
declension of Tea
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Derived terms
- Compound words
Maori
Adjective
Tea
- English nouns
- Pages with broken file links
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- British English
- Canadian English
- Australian English
- New Zealand English
- Commonwealth English
- American English
- Regional English
- En:Cricket
- English slang
- English dated terms
- English verbs
- English terms derived from Min Nan
- Translation requests (Gujarati)
- Translation requests (Oriya)
- Translation requests (Punjabi)
- Translation requests (Sanskrit)
- Check translations
- Translations to be checked (Esperanto)
- Translations to be checked (Maori)
- Translations to be checked (Marathi)
- Translations to be checked (Tibetan)
- En:Meals
- En:Tea
- En:Beverages
- Estonian proper nouns
- Estonian female given names
- Finnish proper nouns
- Finnish female given names
- Finnish kala-type nominals
- Galician nouns
- Hungarian nouns
- Hungarian three-letter words
- Hu:Beverages
- Hu:Tea
- Maori adjectives