Vol. 09 · Loanwords ·Chinese ·1840s
Oolong
from 烏龍 (wū lóng)
- Meaning
- A partly oxidised Chinese tea.
- Source word
- 烏龍 (wū lóng)
- Route into English
- Hokkien/Mandarin *wū lóng* ("dark dragon") → English via 19th-century tea traders in Fujian. The name refers either to the curled dark leaves or to a Ming-era legend about the tea's discovery.
- Arrived
- 1840s
From Chinese
Trade English from the South China Sea ports (especially Hokkien-speaking Xiamen and Canton) seeded the early borrowings; 20th-century diplomacy and military contact added the rest.
English borrows.
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