τυρός

Forms

τῡρός (tūrós) m (genitive τῡροῦ); second declension^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Hellenic *tūrós, probably from Proto-Indo-European *tuh₂-ró-s, from *tewh₂- (“to swell”).^[1][2] It is cognate with Avestan tūiri- (“cheese-like milk, whey”) and perhaps with a Middle Indic word for “cheese”.^[2] The derivation from the root “to swell, become fat” is phonologically unproblematic; it cannot come from Proto-Indo-European *twer- (“to stir”), the root of τύρβη (túrbē), nor from Proto-Indo-European *twerH- (“to fence in”).^[2] Wiktionary also compares Old English ġeþweor (“curds”) and Proto-Slavic *tvarogъ (“curd cheese”), whose relation to it is unclear.^[1] It is already found in Mycenaean Greek tu-ro₂.^[3][1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Pylos tablets list cheeses, tu-ro₂.^[3] In the Iliad goat's cheese is grated into a drink.^[4][5]

Semantic evolution

The word means cheese throughout Ancient Greek: Semonides mentions cheese from Achaea, and Aristophanes Sicilian cheese.^[4] In Lysias “the fresh cheese” names the cheese market at Athens.^[4] It formed many derivatives: the verb τυρεύω (tureúō) “to make cheese”, used figuratively for concocting a plot, and the diminutive τυρίον (turíon).^[2] βούτυρον (boúturon), butter, is literally “cow cheese”.^[4]

The Medieval diminutive τυρί(ν), from τυρίον, became the ordinary word of Modern Greek, Modern Greek τυρί (tirí); τυρός survives only as a learned word.^[6]

Timeline

• Mycenaean – Pylos tablets list cheeses.^[3]
• Homer – The Iliad and the Odyssey use it of cheese.^[4][7]
• 7th–6th century BC – Semonides mentions cheese from Achaea.^[4][8]
• 5th–4th century BC – Lysias uses “the fresh cheese” for the cheese market.^[4][8]
• Medieval Greek – The diminutive τυρί(ν) is in use.^[6]
• Modern Greek – Modern Greek τυρί (tirí) is the ordinary word for cheese.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. Cheese.^[4][5]
2. (Attic) With χλωρός (khlōrós), the fresh-cheese market.^[4]

Related words

• βούτυρον (boúturon)
• English butter

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d 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 Микенско-русский словарь (Mycenaean–Russian dictionary)
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; Jones, Henry Stuart (1940), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Diggle, James, et al., eds. (2021), The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
6. ^ a b c Ινστιτούτο Νεοελληνικών Σπουδών (Ίδρυμα Μανόλη Τριανταφυλλίδη) (1998), Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής, Thessaloniki: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
7. ^ Keersmaekers, Alek (2021–2025), GLAUx: The Greek Language Automated corpus, https://github.com/alekkeersmaekers/glaux
8. ^ a b Rodríguez Adrados, Francisco, et al., eds. (1980–), Diccionario Griego-Español, Madrid: CSIC, http://dge.cchs.csic.es/xdge