A Chinese leafy vegetable used in cooking, as in 'bok choy' or 'choy sum,' similar to cabbage or greens.
From Cantonese 'choi' (菜) meaning vegetable. The word entered English directly from Chinese immigrant communities and is used in its original Asian form rather than translation.
Choy stayed Chinese instead of being translated to 'vegetable'—unlike how many Asian foods got Anglicized names, we kept 'choy' because it's specific to those particular plants. It shows respect for the food's real cultural origin.
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