mui-tsai

noun

¦müē¦jī

plural mui-tsai

1

: a young slave girl in South China

2

: a system of girl slavery in South China

Word History

Etymology

Chinese (Cantonese) mooî-tsaí, from mooî younger sister + tsaí little; akin to Chinese (Pekingese) mei⁴-tsai³ little younger sister, from mei⁴ younger sister + tsai³ child

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