Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Cheesecake-Lexicography II סערניק־לעקסיקאָגראפֿיע


Yesterday I asked the budding neologists among my readers for for names for a cheesecake-like dessert made with nuts or seeds. Hippogirl very aptly pointed out that the word "cheesecake" has been used for centuries to describe such cheese-free confections as Mrs. Beeton's Almond Cheesecake and Lemon Cheesecake, recipes number 1219 and1292 in Isabella Beeton's Book of Household Management (1861). The cakes in Mrs. Beeton's recipes resemble a a sort of shoo-fly pie made with lots of eggs and sugar. I think they are both worth trying, and I agree that for the time being the best word in English for cheesecake is "cheesecake."

The perfect Yiddish word for nut and seed cheesecakes is obvious. It has to be קערניק (kernik). You see, one of the Yiddish words for cheesecake is סערניק (sernik), from the word "ser" which means cheese in Polish and some other Slavic languages. The word "kern" means seeds or kernels.

This is the second most useful word I ever made up. The most useful word is געװעזנתּניתטע (geveznteyniste) which means the former wife of one's current husband. The former husband of one's current wife is one's געװעזנתּן (geveznutn).

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3 Comments:

Blogger Miriam Segura-Harrison said...

also of note- southern chess pie, very much the descendant of the cheese-free cheesecake.

11:40 PM  
Blogger the chocolate doctor מרת שאקאלאד said...

Yes, chess pie! I was thinking of that but had forgotten the name, which some speculate came from "cheese pie"

10:10 AM  
Blogger Miriam Jochnowitz said...

what do you call your ex's new stepchildren?

the Miam

10:28 AM  

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