потурнак

Bulgarian

Etymology

поту́ри (potúri, “culottes, a kind of pants supposed to be worn in particular by Turkicized people”) +‎ -нак (-nak), so it has been reinterpreted as поту́рча се (potúrča se, “to convert into a Türk”) +‎ -нак (-nak).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [potorˈnak]

Noun

потурна́к • (poturnák) m

1. (religious slur) Bulgarian who has converted to Islam and has decided to self-identify as a Türk

Usage notes

The term has negative connotations. For a Bulgarian muslim, who has converted to Islam but has preserved their native language and identity, the non-pejorative term Bulgarian пома́к (pomák) is used.

Declension

Declension of потурна́к

	singular	plural
indefinite	потурна́к poturnák	потурна́ци poturnáci
definite (subject form)	потурна́кът poturnákǎt	потурна́ците poturnácite
definite (object form)	потурна́ка poturnáka
count form	—	потурна́ка poturnáka
vocative form	потурна́ко poturnáko	потурна́ци poturnáci

Related terms

• пома́к (pomák, “Bulgarian muslim”)

References

• “потурнак”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “потурнак”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010