entry
saur
/saur/A Romance-language word meaning “sister”
From Latin saur (sister).
from Latin soror, with the variant form seraur deriving
Word Ancestry
from Latin soror, with the variant form seraur deriving
A family word has wandered surprisingly far from its Latin birthplace: *saur* ultimately goes back to Latin *soror*, “sister.” As Latin fractured into the Romance languages, that familiar household figure appeared in Romanian as *soră* and *suroră*, Italian *suora*, French *soeur*, and Spanish *sor*. The forms look unrelated at first glance, but they are linguistic cousins carrying the same family photograph in different frames. Much later, internet users—especially K-pop fans—also began writing *saur* as an exaggerated “so,” as in “saur cute,” giving the old sister-word an entirely new digital costume.
The Story
A family word has wandered surprisingly far from its Latin birthplace: *saur* ultimately goes back to Latin *soror*, “sister.” As Latin fractured into the Romance languages, that familiar household figure appeared in Romanian as *soră* and *suroră*, Italian *suora*, French *soeur*, and Spanish *sor*. The forms look unrelated at first glance, but they are linguistic cousins carrying the same family photograph in different frames. Much later, internet users—especially K-pop fans—also began writing *saur* as an exaggerated “so,” as in “saur cute,” giving the old sister-word an entirely new digital costume.
Modern Usage
An exaggerated internet spelling of “so” or “super,” often used for emphasis or admiration
Kin & Kindred
From 'saur'·sister
Cognates
Related words in other languages
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Urban Dictionary
Wiktionary