Re: OT: Dim sim (was Re: OT: Junk)

Tristan McLeay wrote at 2003-09-13 07:59:24 (-0400)
 > On Sat, 13 Sep 2003, Tim May wrote:
 >
 > > Tristan McLeay wrote at 2003-09-13 05:32:47 (-0400)
 > >  > On Sat, 13 Sep 2003, Joe wrote:
 > >  >
 > >  > > Or, for that matter, a dimsim.
 > >  >
 > >  > I wouldn't have a clue how to describe them. The Macquarie Dictionary
 > >  > defines them as
 > >  >         dim sim
 > >  >             /dIm sIm/ n, a dish of Chinese origin, made of seasoned meat
 > >  >         wrapped in thin dough and steamed or fried. [? Cantonese tim-sam
 > >  >         snack]
 > >  > I couldn't find any defn at either m-w.com or dictionary.com, so either
 > >  > Americans don't have them (hard to believe) or call them something else.
 > >
 > > I believe they call them dim sum - I've never had either, so I'm not
 > > entirely certain that the terms are synonymous, but my dictionary
 > > lists dim sim as a variant of dim sum.  Certainly the derivation seems
 > > to be the same.
 >
 > m-w.com defines dim sums as:
 >         traditional Chinese food consisting of a variety of items (as
 >         steamed or fried dumplings, pieces of cooked chicken, and rice
 >         balls) served in small portions. Etymology: Chinese (Guangdong)
 >         _di'msAm_, from _di'm_ dot, speck + _sAm_ heart.
 > The steamed or fried dumplings could be what I know of as dim sims, but
 > the rest is certainly not. And the etymology is quite different.
 >

On the contrary, it's identical.  It's just in a different orthography
and broken down more.  The _New Oxford Dictionary of English_ says
"-ORIGIN from Chinese (Cantonese dialect) _tim sam_ from _tim_ 'dot'
and _sam_ 'heart'."*

The NODE gives only the sense of fried or steamed dumplings for "dim
sum".  I suspect that American usage has extended the term from the
dumplings to the general class of food to which they belong;
alternatively Australian usage may have narrowed its scope.