gjysmë

• gjymsë, gjymës, gjysëm, gjysë, gjimës, gjumsë — dialectal or archaic

Has been linked to Proto-Indo-European *yemH- (“twin”),^[1][2] although this is problematic both phonologically and semantically.

May reflect Proto-Indo-European *sḗmi-ty-om, compare Ancient Greek ἥμισσον n (hḗmisson, “half”), from *sēmi- (“half”). Original *s regularly yields gj before accented vowels. The original *ē, after becoming *o must have regularly fronted to *e due to the following *i, and afterwards raised to *i because of the preceding palatal occlusive and following nasal, as also happened in qind, gjind. The evolution of an original stressed gji before labials to an oscillating gjy ~ gji ~ gju can also be observed in magjyp. The metathesis of ms may have been reinforced by contamination with -më, compare also kullusmë.

An early form of the term influencing Romanian jumătate, Aromanian giumitati / giumitate, although possible, seems unnecessary. A direct borrowing from Paleo-Balkan into Balkan Romance^[2] is even less likely, as the terms simply metathesised outcomes of Latin medietās, the Pan-Romance word for “half”.

• IPA^(key): /ˈɟysmə/
• Rhymes: -ysmə

gjysmë f (plural gjysma, definite gjysma, definite plural gjysmat)

1. a half, ¹⁄₂
2. middle

   Synonym: mes

   në gjysmë ― in the middle

3. half sole
4. (colloquial) low shoe (i.e. not covering the ankle), low-tops
5. (colloquial) square headscarf for women

   Synonym: shami

6. (archaic) synonym of gjysmare

gjysmë

1. halfway, partially

   Synonym: përgjysmë

   Antonym: plotësisht

2. half ... half. when repeated

   gjysma mi gjysma zog ― half mouse half bird

• “gjýsm/ë,~a”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1], 1980, page 633f.
• Mann, S. E. (1948) “gjysmë”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 151b