Etymology and Etymythology of Tsaera: A Lost Remnant of Cyprus’ Past

This paper was originally published by me as a short assignment in April 2023, for the class Languages in the C21, run by Prof. Eve Afifa Kheir. The only alterations present are a slight re-work of the reference section to suit the format of Blogspot, rather than its original Microsoft word, as the former does not allow for footnotes. Please inform me of any errors you may encounter in the following. Enjoy 

Etymology and Etymythology are two sides of the same coin. A words given etymology is nothing less than the sum of knowledge available on the history of said word. From its coining to its sound change, to its meaning change, to its borrowing between languages; all are bound in the field of etymology. Ethymythology is a different beast. Described by Zuckermann (2006) initially as “popular/folk-/synchronic etymology”[1], it is further shown to be primarily based in misunderstanding and ignorance.[2] It might further be expanded upon by calling it the way in which the uninformed person relates to the word, as it has the power to influence culture immensely.[3]

In the following, I will compare, and bring light to the common etymythological understanding of the Cypriot Greek borrowing “tsaera”, and its true etymological nature, and, in the process display the differences of these frameworks for ease of understanding.

It should be noted before all else that, due to the sad reality of limited resources available on the Cypriot dialect(s) of Greek (called Kipraika (k^gip^breik^ga), lit: language of the Cypriots), multiple of the sources for discussion originate in forums, news articles, and other such places, where those who natively speak the language are able to discuss their shared interest in their language.

 

The word “tsaera” is an outlier, even in Kipraika. Meaning “chair”, it faces competition by its far more common synonym “karegla” (k^gaɾek^gla), yet, to my mind, it hosts a far more interesting story. Within the common view, we see the a perfectly logical etymological theory: the word is a borrowing of the English word “chair”. Those knowledgeable on the modern history of Cyprus, such as most all Cypriots themselves, are unsurprised by the concept, as, from 1878 until 1960, Cyprus was under the direct control (/occupation/rule/governance) of the British Empire, and administrated by British Governors.[4] This would be the perfect environment for words to be transferred across the two languages. The commonality of this view can be seen via one of the very few English language sources on Cypriot words, Urban dictionary, in which Cypriot user MrKite (2007) called the word a “parafrase [paraphrase] of the original english [English] word chair” borrowed in the occupation.[5]

This is, however, an untrue etymology, an etymythology. As a reddit user comments, the word can be found in records of folk songs pre-British occupation.[6] The reality can be seen in a few small mentions in certain history books. This words’ true etymology is a borrowing not from English, but rather from Old French, the language of the first English rule on Cyprus, of Richard the Lionheart, and the following dominion by the Lusignan Kings of Cyprus.[7] In actuality, tsaera comes not from the English “chair”, but from the Old French “Chaere”. Therefore, tsaera is, thus, not a result of British colonialism, as the etymythology posits, but rather a remnant from the fervour of the Third Crusade, as the etymology holds.

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[1] Zuckermann, G. (2006) “16. 'Etymythological Othering' and The Power of 'Lexical Engineering' in Judaism, Islam and Christianity,” Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion, p. 237. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.20.19zuc.

[2] Zuckermann, G. (2006) “16. 'Etymythological Othering' and The Power of 'Lexical Engineering' in Judaism, Islam and Christianity,” Explorations in the Sociology of Language and Religion, p. 245. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1075/dapsac.20.19zuc.

[3] Zuckermann, G. (2020) in Revivalistics: From the genesis of Israeli to language reclamation in Australia and beyond. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, pp. 101–105.

[4] Cyprus Colony (2023). Available at: https://www.britishempire.co.uk/maproom/cyprus.htm (Accessed: 14 March 2023).

[5] Urban Dictionary: tsaera (2023). Available at: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tsaera (Accessed: 18 March 2023).

[6] Cypriot Words (2022). Available at: https://www.reddit.com/r/cyprus/comments/ub09x4/cypriot_words/ (Accessed: 18 March 2023)

[7] Luke, H. (1957) in Cyprus: A portrait and an appreciation, by sir Harry Luke. London: G. C. Harrap, p. 41.