-улка

Bulgarian

Etymology

Built upon the instrumental suffix Proto-Slavic *-dlo on verbs with u- or ova-conjugation, with addition of the diminutive suffix -ка (-ka).

Suffix

-улка • (-ulka) f

  1. Deverbal, forming feminine instrumental or effect nouns.
    гъдвам (gǎdvam, “to play a melody/refrain”) (obsolete) → гъдулка (gǎdulka, “gadulka”)
    качвам (kačvam, “to mount, to hang up”) → качулка (kačulka, “hood”)
  2. Denominal, forming feminine animal nouns, probably via an intermediate (often obsolete) inchoative verb.
    невеста (nevesta, “bride, newly wedded”) → *невестувам (*nevestuvam) → невестулка (nevestulka, “weasel”)
    свят (svjat, “world, light”) → светувам (svetuvam, “to light up”) (obsolete) → светулка (svetulka, “firefly”)

Usage notes

The suffix carries an implicit semelfactive aspect to the derivatives that it forms. For objects that are used continuously or are created over a period of time, the imperfective suffix -илка (-ilka) is used instead:

висвам (visvam, “to get hanging”) → висулка (visulka, “pendant”)
vs вися (visja, “to hang, to impend”) → висилка (visilka, “horizontal bar (for continuous hanging)”)

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