Chang

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. A mildly alcoholic beer brewed from fermented barley, millet or rice, traditionally drunk in Tibet, Nepal and neighbouring Himalayan communities
2. An alcoholic drink made by fermenting grain, popular in the mountain regions of Tibet and Nepal and often served from a communal pot
3. A homemade, low-strength fermented grain beverage associated with Himalayan highland peoples and typically sipped through a bamboo straw

Etymology: The drink's name arrived in English by way of a Persian instrument. "Čang" in Persian, written چنگ, means "harp," the same word that gives the stringed instrument's name in several neighbouring languages. How a harp's name came to label a grain brew is not spelled out in the available record, so the link between the instrument and the beverage rests on the Persian word alone. The word is borrowed directly from Persian into English, and it is used for a homemade, low-alcohol fermented grain drink from the Himalayan highlands, traditionally sipped through a bamboo straw. The English form keeps the Persian spelling's sound, with the initial "ch" pronounced as in "church."