ζύμη

Forms

ζῡ́μη (zū́mē) f (genitive ζῡ́μης); first declension^[1]

Etymology

Beekes and Chantraine derive it from a noun, as ἅλμη (hálmē, “brine”) comes from ἅλς (háls, “salt”): the Indo-European word for “broth”, seen in Latin iūs (“broth, soup”).^[2][3] Greek would then continue inherited from Proto-Indo-European *yuHs-meh₂.^[2] The same noun is the base of Lithuanian jū́šė (“fish soup”) and of Old Norse ostr (“cheese”).^[2][4] Chantraine notes that these words all mean “soup” or “broth”, a sense rather different from “leaven”.^[3]

Behind it is probably a verb meaning “to mix”, Pokorny's Proto-Indo-European *i̯eu- (“to mix (food)”).^[2][4] Pokorny and Beekes also connect ζωμός (zōmós, “broth, soup”).^[2][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found in the Hippocratic treatise On Regimen and in Aristotle, meaning leaven.^[5][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Papyri use it for brewer's yeast.^[3][2] The Septuagint has it ten times, all in Exodus.^[7] The New Testament makes leaven an image of corruption (Matthew 16:6), and Paul writes μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα ζυμοῖ, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump”.^[3][6] BDAG notes that the ancient leaven was fermented dough, and that “yeast” suggests a product foreign to ancient baking.^[6]

Today Modern Greek ζύμη (zými) is a learned word for dough or pastry.^[8] The English prefix zymo- comes from it, and enzyme was coined in German in 1878 from Modern Greek ένζυμος “leavened”.^[9]

Timeline

• 5th century BC – The Hippocratic On Regimen mentions leaven.^[5]
• 4th century BC – Aristotle uses it for leaven.^[2][6]
• 3rd century BC – The Septuagint uses it in Exodus.^[7][5]
• 1st century AD – The New Testament uses leaven as an image of corrupting influence.^[3][6]
• 1878 – The German physiologist Wilhelm Kühne coins Enzym, the source of English enzyme.^[9]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek ζύμη (zými) means dough.^[8]

Meanings

Noun

1. Leaven, fermented dough used to raise bread.^[2][6]
2. Brewer's yeast.^[3][2]
3. (New Testament, figurative) A corrupting influence.^[3][6]

Related words

• ζωμός (zōmós)
• Latin iūs
• English enzyme
• English zymo-

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beekes, Robert S. P. (2010), Etymological Dictionary of Greek, with the assistance of Lucien van Beek, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 10, Leiden; Boston: Brill
3. ^ a b c d e f g Chantraine, Pierre (2009), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue grecque: histoire des mots, new ed. with a supplement (Chroniques d'étymologie grecque 1–10), Paris: Klincksieck
4. ^ a b c Pokorny, Julius (1959), Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Bern; Munich: Francke
5. ^ a b c Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
6. ^ a b c d e f g Bauer, Walter; Danker, Frederick W., et al. (2000), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed., Chicago: University of Chicago Press
7. ^ a b Lust, Johan; Eynikel, Erik; Hauspie, Katrin (2003), Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint, rev. ed., Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft
8. ^ a b Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com