bletë

Albanian

Alternative forms

• bjetë, mbletë

Etymology

From Proto-Albanian *m(e)lítā, from Proto-Indo-European *mélit (“honey”). Cognate to Greek μέλισσα (mélissa, “bee”). In view of the -bl- cluster one might also consider as alternative Proto-Indo-European *mlīto (“sweet”), in Gothic bleiþs (“kind-hearted, merciful”), Old High German blīdi (“merry, glad”), Hittite [Term?] (/⁠miliddu⁠/, “sweet”). Alternatively from *mbletë, a borrowing from Greco-Latin *melettum, from Ancient Greek μέλιττα (mélitta), but this is unlikely.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbletə/
• Rhymes: -etə
• Hyphenation: blé‧të

Noun

bletë f (plural bletë, definite bleta, definite plural bletët)

1. bee (insect)

   Synonym: mjalcë

2. (collective) swarm (of bees)
3. hive

   Synonyms: zgjua, krodhë, qengjë, koshere

4. (adjective, figurative) quick, fast at work

Derived terms

• bletakapëse
• bletangrënës
• bletar
• bletari
• bletarritës
• bletëz
• bletore
• bonjë

 

Further reading

• “bletë”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe‎^[2] (in Albanian), 1980
• “bletë”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe (in Albanian), 2006