oolong

1850s. From either Mandarin 烏龍 / 乌龙 (wūlóng) due to hypercorrection, or directly from Hokkien 烏龍 / 乌龙 (o͘-liông), from 烏 / 乌 (o͘, “black”) +‎ 龍 / 龙 (liông, “dragon”). See also pouchong from Hokkien 包種茶 / 包种茶 (pau-chióng-tê, literally “tea of the wrapped kind”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈuː.lʊŋ/, /ˈoː.loŋ/

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oolong (countable and uncountable, plural oolongs)

1. A partially fermented tea, often roasted, which combines the characteristics of green tea and black tea.
   • 1994, A. Varnam, J. M. Sutherland, Beverages: Technology, Chemistry and Microbiology, page 187:

     Flavour and aroma of semi-fermented teas is dictated by the extent of fermentation and, for this reason, oolong has a considerably stronger flavour than pouchong, which undergoes a significantly shorter fermentation.

• oolong tea

• pouchong
• souchong

• long oo

• IPA^(key): /uˈlon/ [uˈlõn]
• IPA^(key): /oˈlon/ [oˈlõn]
• Rhymes: -on
• Syllabification: oo‧long

oolong m (plural oolongs)

1. oolong