varenyky

English

Alternative forms

vareniki
wareneki, wareniki

Etymology

From Ukrainian варе́ники pl (varényky), singular варе́ник (varényk), and related terms in other languages, e.g. Russian варе́ники (varéniki) and (particularly in Mennonite communities) Plautdietsch Wareniki. The Ukrainian term comes from ва́рений (várenyj, “boiled”), from вари́ти (varýty, “to boil, to cook”), from Old East Slavic варити (variti), from Proto-Slavic *variti (“to cook”) + masculine ending -ик (-yk). Compare вар (var, “boiling liquid; cooking, boiling”), from Proto-Slavic *varъ, from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to burn, blacken”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /vəˈɹɛniːkiː/

Noun

varenyky

varenyky pl (plural only)

Boiled dumplings stuffed with potato, cheese, or other filling; a serving of these; plural of varenyk.

Usage notes

The food has come to English through various cultures and languages, and may be spelled according to its cultural context or linguistic source: varenyky in a Ukrainian context, vareniki in a Russian or Jewish context, or wareniki or wareneki in a Mennonite context.

The name of the dish is often treated as plural only, but the singular form varenyk or varenik is in use. Sometimes back-formed plurals like varenikes, varenikis, or varenykys also appear occasionally.

Synonyms

perogies, perogy
potsticker

Translations

a kind of dumplings

Afrikaans: wareniki
Belarusian: варэ́нік m (varénik), варэ́нікі m pl (varéniki) (usually plural as a dish)
Bulgarian: варе́ники m pl (varéniki)
Chinese:
Mandarin: 甜餡餃子／甜馅饺子 (tiánxiàn jiǎozi)
French: varenyky m pl, vareniki (fr) m
German: Wareniki pl
Japanese: ヴァレーヌィク (warēniku), ヴァレーヌィクィ (warēniki), ヴァレーニキ (warēniki)
Korean: 바레니키 (bareniki)
Lithuanian: virtiniai pl
Polish: pierogi (pl) m pl, wareniki m pl
Portuguese: vareniki m pl
Russian: варе́ник (ru) m (varénik), варе́ники (ru) m pl (varéniki) (usually plural as a dish)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: вареники pl
Roman: vareniki m pl
Spanish: varenyky m, varénique m
Ukrainian: варе́ник (uk) m (varényk), варе́ники m pl (varényky) (usually plural as a dish), пироги́ m pl (pyrohý) (Western Ukraine)

References

“varenyky” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “варити”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
Rudnyckyj, Ja. B. (1962–1972), “вар”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language (in English), volume 1 (А – Ґ), Winnipeg: Ukrainian Free Academy of Sciences, page 311