IN GREEK
χαβιάρι
chaviari
caviar
IN TURKISH
havyar
havyar
caviar
WEAR THE WORD
χαβιάρι in blue ink and havyar in red, on a T shirt, a tote or a mug.
THE RECORD
- LENT BY, BORROWED BY
- Round trip
- STARTED IN
- Byzantine Greek
- CATEGORY
- Food
- NOTES
- Ultimate origin uncertain; a Persian source has been proposed. Greek may have received it through Turkish or Italian caviale. Confidence low until checked. Nişanyan takes havyar from Middle Greek avgiárion, little egg, so Greek χαβιάρι is the Turkish form returning to Greek.
COMMENTS
An editor reads every comment before it appears.
SOURCES
- Nişanyan Sözlük (checked online)
Etymologies are checked against the dictionaries and studies listed. An entry is stamped settled only when both the Greek and the Turkish side have been checked. Research for this ledger was compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by the editors.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
Gold, K. (ed.) (2026) ‘χαβιάρι / havyar’, entry 092, Defter ή Tefteri: a ledger of shared Greek and Turkish words. https://defteritefteri.com/en/w/092-chaviari/. Accessed [day month year].