žvairas

Of disputed origin:

• Smoczynski derives the word from žvair-, which he considers an o-grade of an unattested *žvir-, an alternate zero-grade of the root underlying žiūrė́ti (“to look at”).^[1]
• Fraenkel compares the word to žvai̇̃nas (“white (about the eyes), bright”), žvaigždė̃ (“star”);^[2] this is semantically and morphologically unclear. Another theory from Fraenkel takes the word as a ž-prefixed formation from Proto-Indo-European *weh₁y- (“to twist, wrap”) (whence Irish fiar (“slant”));^[3] this is formally very ad hoc.
• Though apparently not mentioned in the literature, perhaps a syncopated derivative (a la žvejỹs (“fisherman”)) from žuvi̇̀s (“fish”), thus literally "fish-eyed" > "cross-eyed". This is semantically appealing. There is a possibility that these listed theories have all conflated and contributed to the formation of the word.

• IPA^(key): /ˈʒʋɐɪ̌ɾɐs/

žvai̇̃ras m (feminine žvairà) stress pattern 4

1. cross-eyed
2. squint-eyed
3. looking askance or indirectly
4. crooked