-чуга
Serbo-Croatian
Etymology
First attested in the late 1970s. According to Babić, it has spread from the word цр̀нчуга (“nigger”) (originally formed as црнц- + -југа), which was reanalyzed by native speakers as if being composed of цр̑н (“black”) + -чуга. The word цр̀нчуга was the most common pejorative in subtitled American movies shown on television, acting as a translation for the English word nigger. From there, the suffix has spread forming other words, built on a similar pattern, and with similar pejorative connotations.
Suffix
-чуга (Latin spelling -čuga)
- Suffix appended to nominal stems to a create a noun, usually an augmentative with pejorative connotations.
- ка̏ме̄н → каменчуга
- цр̑н → цр̀нчуга
- пи̑во → пивчуга
Declension
Declension of -чуга
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | -чуга | -чуге |
| genitive | -чуге | -чуга / -чуги |
| dative | -чуги | -чугама |
| accusative | -чугу | -чуге |
| vocative | -чуго | -чуге |
| locative | -чуги | -чугама |
| instrumental | -чугом | -чугама |
Derived terms
Serbo-Croatian terms suffixed with -чуга
References
- Stjepan Babić, 1991, O postanku sufiksa čuga, in Senjski zbornik, Vol.18 No. 1