bletë

Albanian

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *m(e)lítā, from Proto-Indo-European *mélit (“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 (“kind-hearted, merciful”), Old High German blīdi (“merry, glad”), Hittite [Term?] (/⁠miliddu⁠/, “sweet”). Alternatively from *mbletë, a borrowing from Greco-Latin *melettum, from Ancient Greek μέλιττα (mélitta),[2] but this is unlikely.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈbletə/

Noun

bletë f (plural bletë, definite bleta, definite plural bletët)

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

Synonyms

Derived terms

References
  1. Demiraj, B. (1997) Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz [Albanian Etymologies: […]] (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 7)‎ (in German), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 105
  2. Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “bletë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 29
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