It's not a definitive etymology, but there is this Sanskrit (therefore Indo-Iranian) term which may be related: payasya पयस्य mfn. (-स्यः-स्या-स्यं) 1 Made fr

It's not a definitive etymology, but there is this Sanskrit (therefore Indo-Iranian) term which may be related: payasya पयस्य mfn. (-स्यः-स्या-स्यं) 1 Made from milk, (curds, butter, cheese, &c.) itself derived from the word "payas" which means "water or milk". It's a possible connection to the "pa" part of the Persian word "paneer", at least. https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/WILScan/2014/web/webtc/servepdf.php?page=502 https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/scans/WILScan/2014...