Reconstruction:Proto-Albanian/mala
Proto-Albanian
Etymology
From Illyrian *mol-on. Vladimir Orel proposed Lithuanian land and Latvian mala (“bank, shore”) as cognates. Proto-Albanian *mal- reflecting an ancient Balkan toponym Illyrian *Maluntum/*Malontum, *Dimallum,*Malontina, *Maloventum and Dacian Maluesensis.[1][2] Preserved in patroynms, ethnonym malësor (“highlander, mountaineer”), in toponym (historical and ethnographic region) Malësia (north Albania and Montenegro). In Kosovo (Malishevë, Gjilan, Mališevo, Prizren), in Serbia (Maleševo (Golubac), Maleševo (Rekovac)) and the name of Maleshevo Mountain (North Macedonia and Bulgaria).[3] Gil'Ferding proposed Sanskrit मरु (marú, “wilderness, mountain, rock”) as a cognate.According to Michel Morvan a common pre-indo-european substrate with Basque malda (“slope”) and malkor (“precipice”)[4] (cf. pre-indo-european geonymic root *mal (*mel, *mol); Dravidian மலை (malai, “hill, mountain”) and Malayalam മല (mala, “id”)).
La Piana and Huld suggested Old English molda (“forehead”) and Sanskrit मूर्धन् (mūrdhan, “head, top, summit”), both derived from *ml̥Hdʰṓ. Also connected to Ancient Greek *μλωθρός (*mlōthrós), μέλαθρον (mélathron, “ridgepole”), βλαστάνω (blastánō, “to sprout, grow”). Cf. also Ancient Greek βλωθρός (blōthrós, “lofty”), Avestan 𐬐𐬀-𐬨𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬜𐬋 (ka-mərəδō, “demon's head”), with a semantic development from ‘head’ > ‘summit’, compare malë (“tongue tip, tree top”)) > ‘mountain’.
Alternatively, from Dacian or a Paleo-Balkan substrate, cognate to Romanian mal.[5]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /mala/
Noun
*Proto-mala ?
- mount
- mountain
- forest
Derived terms
- mal
- mali
- male
- tërmal
- malësi
- malësia
- malësor
- malësore
- malin
- malet
- malit
- maleve
- malevet
- malesh
- Aromanian: mal, meal
- Romanian: mal (“shore”)
Related terms
- majë
- Gustav Meyer (1891) Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache, Trübner, page 273
- Gustav Meyer (1892) Albanesische Studien III. Lautlehre des indogermanischen Bestandteile des Albanesischen, Carl Gerold's Sohn, page 63, 78
- Ernst Eichler, Gerold Hilty, Heinrich Löffler, Hugo Steger, Ladislav Zgusta (1995) Namenforschung 1. Teilband (Name Studies Volume 1, Les noms propres Tome 1), Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin - New York, →ISBN Invalid ISBN, page 718 → (Chapter: 104. Illyrian-Albanian Toponyms)[https://books.google.ch/books?id=ck1CLzJq9vAC&pg=PA718&dq=mal+albanian+illyrian&hl=de&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwifmsyatdvZAhULvhQKHf1EB5sQ6AEIDDAA#v=onepage&q=mal%20albanian%20illyrian&f=false]
- Michel Morvan (1996) Les origines linguistiques du Basque (The linguistic origins of Basque), Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, →ISBN
- KatKatičić, R. Ancient Languages of the Balkans. 1975. p. 152