PERMANENT DISPUTE RECORD
ALL DISPUTES ↗One scholarly question. Every attached source. The present editorial state, without pretending the last word has been written.
WALS describes a Dutch-mediated European route, while Merriam-Webster compresses the etymology to borrowing from Xiamen Chinese dé. The displayed Dutch stage is probable, not silently declared unanimous.
/tiː/ · noun
The English name of the beverage, carried through the Dutch maritime network from a Southern Min form of the Chinese word 茶.
DIRECT CLAIM EVIDENCE
A citation is not a vote. Each record says whether the work supports, challenges, contradicts, or contextualizes the position—and identifies the exact locus used.
Describes Dutch adoption and diffusion of the Min Nan form.
Chapter 138, Dutch and Amoy/Xiamen discussionLabels tea as borrowed from Chinese (Xiamen) dé without naming Dutch as the immediate donor.
EtymologyThe reviewed evidence does not yet warrant collapsing the competing or incomplete analyses into one secure answer.