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 (plural sëpata, definite sëpata, definite plural sëpatat)

axe
hatchet

Synonyms

Derived terms

sëpatar, sëpatë-daltë

References

^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “sëpatë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 34
^ Meyer, G. (1891) “sëpatë”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache‎^[1] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI
^ Topalli, K. (2017) “sëpatë”, in Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe, Durrës, Albania: Jozef, page 1311

[1] Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “sëpatë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 34

[2] Meyer, G. (1891) “sëpatë”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache‎^[1] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI

[3] Topalli, K. (2017) “sëpatë”, in Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe, Durrës, Albania: Jozef, page 1311

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