zefir

From Russian зефи́р (zefír).

zefir (countable and uncountable, plural zefirs)

1. Alternative form of zephyr (“confectionery”).
   • 2018, Tatyana Nesteruk, “Chocolate Raspberry Zefir Cake”, in The European Cake Cookbook: Discover a New World of Decadence from the Celebrated Traditions of European Baking, Salem, Mass.: Page Street Publishing Co., Macmillan, →ISBN:

     Zefir was my favorite childhood dessert; a sweet treat my mother bought for us on special occasions. Incorporating zefir into this towering cake just makes it that much more special!

   • 2019 August, Tim MacDonald, “Pavlova is good as gold when it comes to the Russian palate”, in Dorie Cox, editor, The Triton: Nautical News for Captains and Crews, volume 16, number 5, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.: Triton Publishing Group Inc., page 16, column 4:

     […] Russians love their sweets. It’s the only culture I have observed in which the men, on the whole, indulge in sweets – notably, honey cake, chocolate-cherry cake, mille feuille, lemon sorbet, Markiza Cake, and the ubiquitous Russian version of Pavlova cookies: zefirs.

   • 2022, Liv Arnold, chapter 8, in Stepping Stone (Invested in You; 2), Adams Basin, N.Y.: The Wild Rose Press, Inc., →ISBN:

     Angie, Sebastian’s assistant, walked across the room, stopping by every desk to offer a homemade zefir—Russian dessert resembling pink marshmallows.

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:zefir.

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key): /ˈzɛ.fir/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛfir
• Syllabification: ze‧fir
• Homophone: Zefir

zefir m inan (diminutive zefirek, related adjective zefirowy or zefiryczny)

1. zephyr (light refreshing wind; a gentle breeze)

   Synonym: wiaterek

2. zephyr (thing of fine, soft, or light quality, especially fabric)
3. zephyr (a type of soft confectionery made by whipping fruit and berry purée (mostly apple purée) with sugar and egg whites with subsequent addition of a gelling agent like pectin, carrageenan, agar, or gelatine)

   Synonym: zefirek

• zefir in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Borrowed from French zéphyr, from Latin zephyrus.

zefir m (plural zefiri)

1. zephyr (wind)

zefir n (plural zefire)

1. zephyr (fabric)

• “zefir”, in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language) (in Romanian), 2004–2026

From Ottoman Turkish زفیر (zefir), from French zéphyr, from Latin zephyrus.

• IPA^(key): /ze.fiɾ/

zefir (definite accusative zefiri, plural zefirler)

1. zephyr (fabric)
   • 1937 November 5, advertisement in Cumhuriyet page 12:

     Çizgili poplinden / Erkek gömlekleri / 190 Kuruş / Zefirden yeni cins 225 Kuruş

     Striped poplin / men's shirts / 190 kurus / New kind from zephyr cloth 225 kurus

• Robert Avery et al., editors (2013), The Redhouse Dictionary Turkish/Ottoman English, 21st edition, Istanbul: Sev Yayıncılık, →ISBN

• Hyphenation: ze‧fir

zefir (definite accusative zefiri, plural zefirler)

1. zephyr (fabric)

• “zefir” in Enedilim.com