bletë

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *m(e)lítā, from Proto-Indo-European *melit- (“honey”). Cognate to Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee”)[1]. In view of the -bl- cluster one might also consider as alternative Proto-Indo-European *mlīto 'sweet', in Gothic bleiþs (bleiþs, “kind-hearted, merciful”), Old High German blīdi (“merry, glad”), Hittite miliddu (“sweet”). Alternatively from *mbletë, a borrowing from Greco-Latin *melettum, from Ancient Greek μέλιττα (mélitta)[2],but this unlikely.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈbletə/

Noun

bletë f

  1. bee (insect)
  2. swarm (of bees)
  3. hive

Synonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Bardhyl Demiraj, Albanische Etymologien (Amsterdam: Rodopoi, 1997),p.105
  2. ↑ Vladimir Orel, Albanian Etymological Dictionary (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 29.
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