sëpatë

Albanian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Unclear. Orel suggests a borrowing from Bulgarian сапът (sapǎt, “axe-handle”), which does not account for its prevalence in both dialects.[1] Meyer suggest an indirect borrowing from Vulgar Latin *sappata from Latin sappa (“mattock”), comparing it with Romance descendants Italian zappa (“hoe”), French sape (“scythe, hoe”), Romanian sapă (“hoe, mattock”).[2] Topalli suggests a possible borrowing from Italian spada (“sword”), contaminated by shpatë (“sword”).[3]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /səpaːt/

Noun

sëpatë f (indefinite plural sëpata, definite singular sëpata, definite plural sëpatat)

  1. axe
  2. hatchet

Synonyms

Derived terms
  • sëpatar, sëpatë-daltë

References
  1. Orel, Vladimir (1998) Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 34
  2. Meyer, Gustav (1891), “sëpatë”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner
  3. Topalli, Kolec (2017), “sëpatë”, in Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe, Durrës, Albania: Jozef, page 1311
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