maté

Meanings

1. An evergreen tree, Ilex paraguariensis, native to South America, cultivated for its leaves.
2. A beverage, resembling tea, made from the dried leaves of this plant.
3. A cup of this drink.
4. The container used to prepare this drink, traditionally a small calabash.

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish mate, from Quechua mati. Here, as well as in the matë variant, the unetymologically accented e serves the purpose in English of marking that vowel as pronounced, as in latte, rather than silent as in mate.