zer

Forms

zer n (plural zeruri)^[1]

Etymology

Its origin is disputed.^[2][3] According to MDA2 and the DLR it is inherited from Latin serum (“whey”), influenced by zară (buttermilk), and Scriban, the Lexicon de la Buda and Șăineanu also give the Latin word.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} DEX and NODEX call it of unknown origin.^[3][9] Ciorănescu explains why: the Latin word would not give the Romanian one by the regular sound changes (Densusianu, Tiktin).^[2] The other proposals adjust the Latin word: Giuglea thought of a contamination with Ancient Greek ζέμα (zéma, “boiling, decoction”), Pascu of a Thracian word, and Pușcariu of a native word.^[2] Ciorănescu concludes that the Latin source is attractive and fairly probable, but that the way it reached Romanian is unknown.^[2] Wiktionary gives both: a substrate word related to the word for buttermilk, or the Latin word influenced by the Greek one.^[1]

Ciorănescu also finds it hard to believe that the word for buttermilk has a separate source, and calls its derivation from Albanian dhallë very doubtful, although DEX compares the Albanian word.^[2][10] The word has an Aromanian counterpart: Aromanian dzãr.^[11][12][1] Romanian lent it to Hungarian zara, to Transylvanian Saxon and Ruthenian dialects, and probably to Modern Greek τσίρρος (tsírros).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

MDA2's first record is Nicolae Costin's chronicle of Moldavia.^[4] The Lexicon de la Buda (1825) has zeru, glossed with Latin serum lactis.^[7][5]

Semantic evolution

The word names the yellow-green liquid left when milk curdles in cheese-making, and also the liquid that runs off yoghurt or soured milk and the buttermilk left after churning.^[3][5] Barcianu (1886) records cură de zer, a whey cure.^[13] The form zăr is Oltenian and Moldavian, and dzăr is found in Moldavia and the Banat.^[6][2]

Timeline

• 1825 – zeru in the Lexicon de la Buda.^[7]
• 1843 – zerul, of a baby sucking whey through a tube.^[5]
• 1886 – cură de zer “whey cure” in Barcianu.^[13]

Meanings

Noun

1. whey: the yellow-green liquid that separates from milk when it curdles in cheese-making, used to make urdă and lactose.^[3][4][1]
2. The greenish liquid that runs off yoghurt or soured milk.^[3]
3. The liquid left after churning butter; zară, buttermilk.^[3][5]

Related words

• zară
• Aromanian dzãr

Usage notes

The phrase a se alege brânza de zer (or din zer) means that the good is told from the bad, and a scoate zer din piatră “to squeeze whey out of stone” means to do something that seemed impossible.^[3][4][9]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g Ciorănescu, Alexandru (1958–1966), Diccionario etimológico rumano, La Laguna: Universidad de La Laguna (Romanian ed.: Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române, București: Saeculum, 2001), p. s.v. zer
3. ^ a b c d e f g DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1223
4. ^ a b c d Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2010), Micul dicționar academic, 2nd ed., 4 vols., București: Univers Enciclopedic Gold, p. 2, 1564
5. ^ a b c d e Academia Română (1965–2010), Dicționarul limbii române (DLR), serie nouă, tom I–XIX, București: Editura Academiei Române, p. s.v. zer
6. ^ a b Scriban, August (1939), Dicționaru limbii românești (etimologii, înțelesuri, exemple, citațiuni, arhaizme, neologizme, provincializme), Iași: Presa Bună, p. 1437
7. ^ a b c Lesicon românescu-latinescu-ungurescu-nemțescu quare de mai mulți autori, în cursul a trideci și mai multor ani s-au lucrat (1825), Buda: Typographia Universității (the Lexicon of Buda, ed. Petru Maior et al.), p. 769
8. ^ Șăineanu, Lazăr (1929), Dicționar universal al limbei române, 6th ed., Craiova: Scrisul Românesc, p. 708
9. ^ a b Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică „Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti” (2002), Noul dicționar explicativ al limbii române, București: Litera Internațional, p. s.v. zer
10. ^ DEX (2009), Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române [Explanatory dictionary of the Romanian language], Bucharest: Editura Univers Enciclopedic, p. 1216
11. ^ Papahagi, Tache (1963), Dicționarul dialectului aromân, general și etimologic, București: Editura Academiei Republicii Populare Romîne, p. 432
12. ^ Pascu, Giorge (1925), Dictionnaire étymologique macédoroumain, 2 vols. (I: Les éléments latins et romans; II: Les éléments grecs, turcs, slaves, albanais, germaniques, magyars, néologismes, créations immédiates, obscurs), Iași: Cultura Națională, p. 1, 190
13. ^ a b Barcianu, Sava Popovici (1886), Dicționar român-germân și germân-român, revised by D. P. Barcianu, part I: român-germân, Sibiu: Institut tipografic, p. 702