божа кравичка

Bulgarian

Божа кравичка

Etymology

From бо́жи (bóži, “divine”) +‎ кра́ва (kráva, “cow”) +‎ -ичка (-ička, “diminutive suffix”), named so because of the common belief that firebugs usually appear around Easter.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbɔʒɐ ˈkravit͡ʃkɐ]
• (colloquial) IPA^(key): [boˈʒa̟ ˈkravit͡ʃkɐ] (occasionally)

Noun

бо́жа кра́вичка • (bóža krávička) f

1. firebug (hemipteran insect of family Pyrrhocoridae, particularly Pyrrhocoris apterus)

   Synonyms: великде́нче (velikdénče), (dialectal) козя́вка (kozjávka)

Usage notes

Informally, the epithet can also be applied for ladybugs (coccinellid beetles), red leaf beetles (particularly those of genus Chrysomela), or cinnamon bugs (red-and-black squash bugs).

Declension

Declension of бо́жа кра́вичка

	singular	plural
indefinite	бо́жа кра́вичка bóža krávička	бо́жи кра́вички bóži krávički
definite	бо́жата кра́вичка bóžata krávička	бо́жите кра́вички bóžite krávički
vocative form	бо́жа кра́вичке bóža krávičke	бо́жи кра́вички bóži krávički

References

• Nayden Gerov (1895) “бо́жıа кра́вица”, in Рѣчникъ на Блъгарскꙑй язꙑкъ. Съ тлъкувание рѣчи-тꙑ на Блъгарскꙑ и на Русскꙑ.‎^[1] (in Bulgarian), volume 1, Plovdiv: Дружествена печꙗтница "Съгласие.", page 59