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點心

Pronunciation: /ti̯ɛn²¹⁴⁻²¹ ɕin⁵⁵/

“點心” is a Chinese word. Its 8 meanings in English:

noun

  1. snack; light refreshment
  2. dim sum
  3. pastry
  4. (light) breakfast
  5. lunch
  6. dinner

verb

  1. to snack to satisfy one's hunger
  2. to think over; to consider; to ponder

Etymology

First appeared during the Tang dynasty, e.g. from the Book of Tang: : 「唐鄭為江淮留侯，家人備夫人晨饌，夫人謂其弟曰：『治妝未畢，我未及餐，爾且可點心。』」 Tang Zheng was the official for the Jianghuai region. (One day), after the servants prepared the morning meal, Tang's wife said to his brother, 'I have not finished doing my makeup. You can have some snacks (literally, “refresh your hearts”) before I am ready to eat.

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.