мелче
Bulgarian
Etymology
By surface analysis, *melь (*melʹ) + -че (-če, diminutive suffix). Related to Romanian melc (“snail”), with no direct cognates in other Slavic languages:
- Mladenov: Akin to Proto-Slavic *(s)mъlžь (“mollusc”).
- Georgiev (БЕР): Semantically parallel to dial. пасоче (pasoče) < па- (pa-) + сок (sok, “juice”) + -е (-e), слимак (slimak) < Proto-Slavic *slima (“slime”) + -ак (-ak).
- Duvernois: Borrowed from Romanian or together with the Romanian lemma - inherited from a Paleo-Balkan substrate.
In either case, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mel- (“meek, tender, soft”) (attested e.g. in Old Armenian մեղկ (mełk, “soft”)).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈmɛɫt͡ʃɛ]
Noun
ме́лче • (mélče) n (dialectal)
- river snail (grastropod from family Viviparidae)
- (figurative) timid, meek, unassertive person or creature
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| indefinite | ме́лче mélče |
ме́лчета mélčeta |
| definite | ме́лчето mélčeto |
ме́лчетата mélčetata |
Alternative forms
- ме́лчо m (mélčo) (in the figurative sense only)
References
- Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1986), “мелче”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 3 (крес¹ – мѝнго¹), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 729
- Nayden Gerov (1899) “ме́лчё”, in Рѣчникъ на Блъгарскꙑй язꙑкъ. Съ тлъкувание рѣчи-тꙑ на Блъгарскꙑ и на Русскꙑ. [Dictionary of the Bulgarian language][1] (in Bulgarian), volume 3, Plovdiv: Дружествена печꙗтница "Съгласие.", page 59