КИСЕЛЬ

Another Ukrainian-Russian word with a distinctively Kartvelian suffix (though we hadn’t realized it was Kartvelian until now) is kisiel (кисель). It appears to be derived from the Georgian adjective "kiseli", as the final soft sign (ь) was historically recognized as a former vowel—most often "i".

The Georgian language does not contain a root "kis" that would correspond to kisiel. However, in Megrelian, the word "kise" (კისე) means "Christmas." Based on this, a morphemic and precise interpretation of "kiseli" would be "Christmas-related."

Now, we must establish whether kisiel has any connection to Christmas…

"...The Christmas Eve dinner must be strictly Lenten and include 12 dishes (representing the apostles)... The first dish served is a ritual porridge with poppy seed milk... The next dish is oat kisiel, whose gray color and distinct taste symbolize the Old Testament—a time perceived as bleak, dull, and somber due to the consequences of sin. Kisiel is poured over with honey water to signify that Christ brought hope, turning everything joyful and, metaphorically, sweet..."

It is also highly likely that the word "kisiel" later influenced the development of "kisly" (sour) in Slavic languages. In that case, few would suspect that "kislota" (acid) might actually contain the name of God, since "kise" is a distorted form of "Kirse," which, in turn, is the Megrelian variant of "Christos" (Christ).