cha meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

cha

noun

/t͡ʃɑː/

Etymology From Chinese 茶 (chá), from Proto-Sino-Tibetan *s-la, via two routes: in some cases from Hindustani चा (cā) / چا (cā) (a variant of the same root, from Persian چا, which led to chai), from Northern Chinese; in other cases from 茶 (chá) /t͡sʰɑː²¹/, the pronunciation found in Canton (Guangzhou), where the British bought much of their tea in the 19th century. Doublet of tea, which is from the Amoy Min Nan pronunciation tê.

Tea, (sometimes dialect) specifically masala chai.

Would you like a cup of cha?
[Krazy Kat, bringing a full tray:] Look, folkses – hot dogs, hot cha, hot peppa pots, hot timollies – hot kuffy. ^([sic])1934 August 4, George Herriman, Krazy Kat, Saturday, comic strip, →ISBN, page 206:

Derived terms: chasericulture

cha

pron

/t͡ʃʌ/

Dialectal, Nonstandard, Pronunciation spelling Pronunciation spelling of you, especially when preceded by a /t/ sound.

You mean you can't fly after you've had a few beers? You can drive, can't cha?1976, Flying Magazine, page 34:
Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me?2005, Busta Rhymes, CeeLo Green, “Don't Cha”, performed by Pussycat Dolls:

1 more example

“You'll be ridin' with us, won't cha, Josh?”2008, Barbara L. Jent, The Weddin' Day, Barbara Jent, →ISBN, page 157:

Derived terms: dincha, doncha, gotcha
Related terms: -cha

cha

particle

Etymology From cha-cha (q.v.).

Dance, Dancing, Hobbies, Lifestyle, Sports Used to count out steps, particularly involving the hip-shaking sections of rhythmic Latin dances.

One–two–cha–cha–cha Three–four–cha–cha–cha

Derived terms: ha-cha-cha

cha

noun

Etymology From the McCune-Reischauer romanization of Korean 자 (ja).

Synonym of Korean foot: a traditional unit of length equivalent to about 30.3 cm.

Korean units of measure

Related terms: cha chaan teng

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.