sērs

From Proto-Indo-European *ser- (“to flow, run”), based either on sulfur's sharp taste, or on a development like “liquid” > “substance that flows easily” > “sulfur”. Cognates include Russian се́ра (séra), Latin serum (“whey”).

Some specialists believe, however, that sērs is a 13th-century borrowing from Old East Slavic (сѣр (sěr), сѣра (sěra)). At any rate, even if the word is not borrowed, its shape may have been influenced by Old East Slavic or Russian.^[1]

• IPA^(key): [sǣːrs]

sērs m (1st declension)

1. sulfur (nonmentallic chemical element with atomic number 16)

   aktīvais sērs ― active sulfur

   organiskais sērs ― organic sulfur

   sēra trioksīds ― sulfur trioxide

   sēra atrades ― sulfur deposits

   sēra savienojumi ― sulfur compounds

   sēra peldes ― sulfur baths

2. earwax (waxy substance secreted by the ear)

   auss sērs ― earwax

   sēra korķis ― ear cork (= a lump of earwax in the ear)

• auss sērs