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lychee

The fruit's Chinese name reached English twice, which is why it is pronounced 'lie-chee' (from Cantonese) or 'lee-chee' (from Hokkien) and spelled lychee or litchi. The trees and their name also reached Thailand, India, Japan and, through German, Hungary.

Weakest linkProbable

The road to English

From Middle Chinese to Hokkien (Min Nan)

From Middle Chinese to Mandarin Chinese

From Middle Chinese to Vietnamese

From Hokkien (Min Nan) to Thai

From Cantonese to Hindi

From Cantonese to Japanese

From Cantonese to French

From French to German, Hungarian

From English to Russian

400 CEMiddle Chinese

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

The road to English

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