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gei·sha

(gāshə, gē-)

n. pl. geisha or gei·shas

A Japanese girl or woman who is trained to entertain professional or social gatherings of men with conversation, dancing, and singing.

[Japanese : gei, art, skill (from Middle Chinese ŋjiaj`; also the source of Mandarin yì) + sha, person (from Middle Chinese tʂia´, pronoun for the head of a relative clause; also the source of Mandarin zhě).]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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