caviar

Where does the word "caviar" come from? It comes from Persian khaviyar, passing through Turkish, Italian and French before entering English (1550s).

Caviar’s story begins in Persian: khaviyar meant “egg-bearing (fish roe).” Literally "egg-bearing": khaya "egg" + dar "bearing, having". By medieval, the word had taken hold in Turkish as khaviar. Ottoman traders controlled the Black Sea and Caspian sturgeon fisheries. From there it passed into Italian as caviaro by c. 1300s-1500s. Entered Europe via Venetian trade with the Ottomans. French picked it up next, as caviar, around 1500s. Rabelais mentioned caviar in the 1530s as a delicacy. It reached English by 1550s as caviar. Hamlet's 'caviare to the general' (1600) means a delicacy wasted on common people. Today, caviar means the salted roe of sturgeon or other fish, eaten as a delicacy.

1. Stage 1 · Persian · medieval khaviyar "egg-bearing (fish roe)", literally "egg-bearing": khaya "egg" + dar "bearing, having".
2. Stage 2 · Turkish · medieval khaviar "salted fish roe", Ottoman traders controlled the Black Sea and Caspian sturgeon fisheries.
3. Stage 3 · Italian · c. 1300s-1500s caviaro "salted sturgeon roe", entered Europe via Venetian trade with the Ottomans.
4. Stage 4 · French · 1500s caviar "salted sturgeon roe", Rabelais mentioned caviar in the 1530s as a delicacy.
5. Stage 5 · English · 1550s caviar "salted sturgeon roe eaten as a delicacy", Hamlet's 'caviare to the general' (1600) means a delicacy wasted on common people.