euskara
Basque
Alternative forms
Etymology
Ostensibly from Proto-Basque *euskala. It certainly contains the suffix -(k)era, -(k)ara (“in the manner of”) added to some rather obscure first element. This component may be connected to Ausci, the Latin name of an Aquitanian tribe documented by Pliny, although the initial diphthongs are different.[1]
Alternatively, it has been pointed out that the historiographer Esteban de Garibay (1533-1599) wrote euskara as enusquera, with intervocalic -n-. Thus, the unknown component could also be interpreted as coming from Proto-Basque *enauśi (“to say, tell”), whence the stem -io- (or -iño in Biscayan) of Modern Basque esan. The entire compound would therefore mean “way of saying”.[1]
A theory of external derivation relates the word euskal + -era to the same family as French vassal.[2]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /eu̯s̺kaɾa/ [eu̯s̺.ka.ɾa]
Audio: (file) - Rhymes: -aɾa, -a
- Hyphenation: eus‧ka‧ra
Noun
euskara inan
- the Basque language
Declension
| indefinite | singular | |
|---|---|---|
| absolutive | euskara | euskara |
| ergative | — | euskarak |
| dative | — | euskarari |
| genitive | — | euskararen |
| comitative | — | euskararekin |
| causative | — | euskararengatik |
| benefactive | — | euskararentzat |
| instrumental | euskaraz | euskaraz |
| inessive | — | euskaran |
| locative | — | — |
| allative | — | — |
| terminative | — | — |
| directive | — | — |
| destinative | — | — |
| ablative | — | — |
| partitive | euskararik | — |
| prolative | euskaratzat | — |
Derived terms
- euskara batua (“standard Basque”)
- euskaradun (“Basque speaker”)
- euskarakada
- euskaratu (“to translate into Basque”)
- euskaratzaile
Related terms
- Euskadi
- euskal (“Basque”)
- Euskal Herria (“Basque Country”)
- euskalari
- euskaldun (“Basque, Basque speaker”)
- euskalki (“dialect of Basque”)
- euskaltzain (“member of Euskaltzaindia”)
- euskaltzale (“Bascophile”)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 R. L. Trask (2008) “euskara”, in Max W. Wheeler, editor, Etymological Dictionary of Basque, University of Sussex, page 186
- ^ Löpelmann, Martin (1968) “Eṣkual”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der baskischen Sprache: Dialekte von Labourd, Nieder-Navarra und La Soule, volume 1, De Gruyter, →ISBN, page 361
Further reading
- “euskara”, in Orotariko Euskal Hiztegia [General Basque Dictionary], Euskaltzaindia, 1987–2005
- “euskara”, in Euskaltzaindiaren Hiztegia [Dictionary of the Basque Academy] (in Basque), Euskaltzaindia [Royal Academy of the Basque Language]
Spanish
Noun
euskara m (plural euskaras)
- alternative form of euskera
Further reading
- “euskara”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024