Welcome to Gaia! ::

Topic: Chinese terms from Chinese food

With the Summer Olympics now fading away in our rear view mirror, today we mark the 1949 anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China with a look at—what else?—language from that region.

Plenty of terms that entered English from Chinese name foods from Chinese society. Consider the kumquat, which literally means "gold citrus fruit"; and lo mein, which means "stirred noodles" in Guangdong. Then there's longan, a fruit related to the lychee. Longan translates as "dragon's eye," a fine name for the small round fruit which, when peeled, features translucent flesh with a black seed inside. Kungpao (meaning "stir fried" or sometimes "deep fried and served in a spicy hot sauce usually with peanuts") has a Chinese ancestor meaning "palace guardian."

Then there's brainwashing, which, when it first appeared in English during the 1950s, was associated with the Korean War. But brainwashing—forcible indoctrination to induce someone to give up basic political, social, or religious beliefs or attitudes and to accept contrasting regimented ideas—is actually a translation of the Chinese "to wash the brain." It was long associated with activities practiced during the early days of the People's Republic, although nowadays brainwashing has a less physical application too, describing persuasion by propaganda or salesmanship.

Questions or comments? Write us at wftw@aol.com Production and research support for Word for the Wise comes from Merriam-Webster, publisher of language reference books and Web sites including Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, Eleventh Edition.