caracatiță

Romanian

Etymology

Attested c. 1650 as cracatiță.[1]

Of Slavic origin, cf. Bulgarian кракатица (krakatica, “cuttlefish”), Serbo-Croatian karakatnica (“octopus”), Ukrainian каракатиця (karakatycja, “cuttlefish”), Russian каракатица (karakatica, “cuttlefish”), Czech krakatice (“squid”). The form and early date make Bulgarian the likely source language; Ukrainian is also a possibility.[2]

The base concept is кракат (“long-legged, having legs”), from крак (krak, “limb, leg of an aquatic animal”), cf. Romanian crac (“leg, forked branch”), but influenced also by Turkish kara (“black”).

Noun

caracatiță f (plural caracatițe)

  1. octopus (mollusc)

Declension

singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative-accusative caracatiță caracatița caracatițe caracatițele
genitive-dative caracatițe caracatiței caracatițe caracatițelor
vocative caracatiță, caracatițo caracatițelor

References

  1. ^ “caracatiță”, in Dicționarul etimologic al limbii române (in Romanian), București: Academia Română, Institutul de Lingvistică Iorgu Iordan – Al. Rosetti;
  2. ^ Gh. Ivănescu, Istoria limbii române. Iaşi, 1980, p. 438.
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