chai

Noun (1)

chai (plural chais)

1. A female Romani.

Noun (2)

chai (usually uncountable, plural chais)

1. (India, usually) Any tea beverage, but especially milk tea, regardless of whether it is spiced.
   • We were drinking some chai — the ashram version — watered down, boring, no spices, lots of water, just a smidgen of tea and even less milk.2010 November 1, Jovan Jones, Dancing with the Avatar, Destiny Image Publishers, →ISBN
   • I fix myself a cup of chai - slightly strong black tea with just a touch of hot milk and no spices... the kind that Babuji would have liked on a morning like this — and sipping my chai, I walk barefoot on the moist grass in the backyard2016 July 1, Naeem Inayatullah, Elizabeth Dauphinee, Narrative Global Politics: Theory, History and the Personal in International Relations, Routledge, →ISBN, page 182

Noun (3)

IPA/xaɪ/

chai

1. (Judaism) A Jewish symbol representing life, traditionally worn as an amulet.
   • Nothing hangs on the walls, though a stained-glass Hebrew chai leans against the window.1995 May 21, Steven Levy, “The Unabomber and David Gelernter”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 06 Nov 2020
   • Today, he [Drake] wears a diamond-studded Chai, a symbol of the Jewish word for life, and has his mother pressuring him to marry "a nice Jewish girl," according to Heeb magazine.2011 February 18, Mark Marino, “Kosher beef between two rappers”, in CNN, archived from the original on 01 Feb 2023

Noun (4)

IPA/ʃɛ/

chai (plural chais)

1. A place above ground for storing wine casks.
   • The Kanon era lasted a mere 10 years, yet he had the château constructed, invested substantially in the vineyard and chais, and established the wine as one of the leading labels in the area.2004, Clive Coates, The Wines of Bordeaux, University of California Press, →ISBN, page 302

Noun (5)

chai (uncountable)

1. (rare) Russian tea.
   • They say in New York that the aristocracy of the Back Bay can talk nothing but Tolstoi and drink nothing but chai (Russian tea).1887 November 27, “Table Gossip”, in The Boston Sunday Globe, volume XXXII, number 150, Boston, Mass., →OCLC, page 13, column 4
   • A reader can imagine sitting at Walter’s kitchen table, a cup of chai (Russian tea) at hand, listening to the white-haired gentleman recalling events.2004 September 9, Shana Loshbaugh, “Entertaining saga stars Ninilchik elder”, in Homer News, volume 31, number 37, Homer, Alas., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 23A, column 3

Noun (6) capitalized: Chai

Chai (plural Chaim)

1. Alternative letter-case form of chai (“Jewish symbol”).

Proper noun capitalized: Chai

Chai

1. A surname.