кърлеж

Bulgarian

Etymology

Derived from the zero-grade form *(s)kr̥- of Proto-Indo-European *(s)ker- (“to cut; to poke; to bite”), extended similarly to пъ́рля (pǎ́rlja) vs. па́ря (párja).

Cognates include Macedonian крлеж (krlež), Serbo-Croatian крљ, крља, крлич and Aromanian cãrlej.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkɤrlɛʃ]
• Hyphenation^(key): кър‧леж

Noun

къ́рлеж • (kǎ́rlež) m (diminutive къ́рлежче)

1. tick (arachnid)
2. (figurative) leech, bloodsucker (person who exploits or lives off others)
3. (dialectal) castor oil plant (Ricinus communis)

   Synonym: рици́н (ricín)

Declension

Declension of къ́рлеж

	singular	plural
indefinite	къ́рлеж kǎ́rlež	къ́рлежи kǎ́rleži
definite (subject form)	къ́рлежът kǎ́rležǎt	къ́рлежите kǎ́rležite
definite (object form)	къ́рлежа kǎ́rleža
count form	—	къ́рлежа kǎ́rleža

Related terms

• ака́р (akár)

References

• “кърлеж”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “кърлеж”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1986), “кърлеж”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 3 (крес¹ – мѝнго¹), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 208