бухер

Bulgarian

Видове бухери + черупки от покрити бухери

Etymology

Technically reflecting Proto-Slavic *buxyrъ, probably with original meaning bulged, bloated creature. If correct, then derived from бу́хвам (búhvam, “to bulge, to bloat, to tumefy”) +‎ -ер (-er).

Alternatively, modified from dialectal Bulgarian бу́га (búga, “bull”) (of Turkic origin) + -ер (-er) due to the horn-like eye tentacles of snails. Compare the folk epithets ро́глец (róglec), ро́жковец (róžkovec, “gastropod”) from Bulgarian рог (rog, “horn”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈbuxɛr]

Noun

бу́хер • (búher) m (diminutive бо́хльо)

(dialectal) gastropod
Synonyms: пи́жек (pížek) (dialectal), пасо́к (pasók) (dialectal), слима́к (slimák) (archaic)
зъ́мски бу́хер ― zǎ́mski búher ― slug (literally, “serpentine gastropod)”)
черу́пест бу́хер ― čerúpest búher ― snail (literally, “shelled gastropod)”)
(by specification) snail
Synonym: о́хлюв (óhljuv)

Alternative forms

бу́хир (búhir)
бу́ер (búer) (colloquial pronunciation, with silent medial -х-)

Declension

Declension of бу́хер

	singular	plural
indefinite	бу́хер búher	бу́хери búheri
definite (subject form)	бу́херът búherǎt	бу́херите búherite
definite (object form)	бу́хера búhera	бу́херите búherite
vocative form	бу́хере búhere	бу́хери búheri

Derived terms

о́хльо-бо́хльо (óhljo-bóhljo) (alias for gastropods in children's tales)

Related terms

бу́хав (búhav, “swollen, bulged; rippen (for fruits)”)
бухти́ца (buhtíca, “bindweed”) (dialectal)
набу́хвател (nabúhvatel, “leaven (for dough)”)
търбу́х (tǎrbúh, “rumen, belly”) (< *trь- (“tri-”) + *buxъ (“bulge”))

References

бухер in Rečnik na bǎlgarskija ezik (Institut za bǎlgarski ezik)
Georgiev Vl. I., editor (1971) , “бухер, буер”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, page 94
Gerov, Najden (1895) , “бу́хыръ”, in Rěčnik na blǎgarskyj jazyk [Dictionary of the Bulgarian language] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Plovdiv: Družestvena pečatnica “Sǎglasie”, page 88