Etymology

Disputed. May be from a pre-Roman language, such as Dacian or Thracian, comparisons having been made to the Dacian name for the black hellebore Helleborus niger, Prodiarna (diarna → zârnă). Compare Sorin Paliga, et al. The Romanian Academy in its official dictionary, the Dicționarul explicativ al limbii române (1998), however, derives the word from Proto-Slavic *zorno ‎(“berry, grain”) .