kacagjel

Albanian

Etymology

From kaca- +‎ gjel (“rooster, cock”). Given that boastfulness is a characteristic usually ascribed to roosters rather than ants, it seems that sense 2 developed parallelly from the original meaning of gjel rather than from sense 1.

Noun

kacagjel m (plural kacagjela, definite kacagjeli)

2. large dark-red ant. carpenter ant (Camponotus)

   Synonym: kaposh

4. (derogatory) haughty, bumptious person

   Synonym: mburravec

Derived terms

• kacagjelohem
• kacagjelthi

 

Adverb

kacagjel

1. (derogatory) haughtily, bumptiously

   Synonym: kacagjelthi

   rri kacagjel ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

   ecën kacagjel ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)

Further reading

• “kacagjel”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006
• “kacagjel”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1] (in Albanian), 1980