Posted on 10/17/2008 3:29:55 PM PDT by MichaelAsher54
The word caviar entered English via Italian [1] or Turkish,[2]; it is ultimately derived from Persian /xɒvjɒr/, from khaya "egg" (from Middle Persian khayak "egg," from Old Iranian *qvyaka-, diminutive of *avya-, from PIE *owyo-/*oyyo- "egg") + dar "bearing." [1]
Some also think it derives from the Persian word خاگآور (Xâg-âvar), meaning "the roe-generator"; others say chav-jar, which means "cake of power", a reference to the ancient Persian practice of eating caviar in stick form as a kind of elixir.[3]
In Persian, the word refers to both the sturgeon and its roe; in Russian, the word икра (ikra), "roe", is used. The Russian word malossol ("little salt") sometimes appears on caviar tins to show that the caviar is minimally salted; typically, caviar contains 4% to 8% salt, with the better-brand varieties generally being less salted.
That would be a first!
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