ковбаса

• ківбаса́ (kivbasá) — dialectal

From Middle and Old Ukrainian колбаса́ (kolbasá), Old East Slavic кълбаса (kŭlbasa). Slavic cognates point to several reconstructed forms (Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa, *klobasa, *kobasa), indicating that this is a very early borrowing, with no clear antecedent. It is considered most likely to originate from Turkic for "grilled cutlet," literally "pressed on ashes," from Proto-Turkic *kül (“ash”) + *bas (“to press”) (modern Turkish basmak).^[1]

Other possible connections include Old East Slavic *колб- (*kolb-) or *ковб- (*kovb-), cognate of Russian ко́лоб (kólob, “small round bun”), Russian and Ukrainian колобо́к (kolobók, “small round bun”), Ukrainian ко́вбиця (kóvbycja, “log”), ковба́н (kovbán, “log”), ко́вбик (kóvbyk, “stomach”), ковба́тка (kovbátka, “morsel of meat”), or onomatopoeic Proto-Indo-European *kol-, *kel-, cognate of Bulgarian кълцам (kǎlcam, “to chop, mince”), Ukrainian коло́ти (kolóty, “to prick”), лу́скати (lúskaty, “to shell (nuts)”), дзьо́бати (dzʹóbaty, “to peck”), Old Church Slavonic кльчьтати (klĭčĭtati, “to snap one's teeth”).

There is also the unlikely suggestion of a connection to Proto-Slavic *kъl̥bjь (“gudgeon”); compare Russian колба́ (kolbá), колбь (kolbʹ), Ukrainian ко́блик (kóblyk), ко́вблик (kóvblyk).

Speculations of an origin in Hebrew כל־ (kol-, “all”) בּשׂר (basár, “meat, food”) or French calebasse (“calabash”) are considered tenuous in the light of semasiology, chronology, and geography.

Compare Russian колбаса́ (kolbasá), Belarusian каўбаса́ (kaŭbasá), кілбаса́ (kilbasá) and dialectal келбаса́ (kjelbasá), the last two from Polish, Old East Slavic колбаса (kolbasa), Polish kiełbasa and archaic kiełbodziej (“sausage stuffer”), Kashubian kiełbas, Czech klobása, rarely klobás, and archaically koblása, Slovak kolbasa, klobása, kubása, and dialectal klbása, Upper Sorbian kołbasa and dialectal kołbasa, archaic Lower Sorbian kjałbasa, rarely kjałbas, Bulgarian колба́са (kolbása), колба́с (kolbás), and dialectal калба́са (kalbása), кълбаса (kǎlbasa), and коба́са (kobása), Macedonian колба́са (kolbása), Serbo-Croatian kobàsica and dialectal klobása, and klobásica, Slovene klobása.

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ковбаса́ • (kovbasá) f inan (genitive ковбаси́, nominative plural ковба́си, genitive plural ковба́с, relational adjective ковба́сний)

1. sausage

• → English: kolbassa, kovbasa, kubasa

• Bilodid, I. K., editor (1970–1980), “ковбаса”, in Словник української мови: в 11 т. [Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language: in 11 vols] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
• “kolbassa, kubasa” in the Canadian Oxford Dictionary, Second Edition, Oxford University Press, 2004.
• Rudnyc'kyj, Ja. (1972–1982) “ковбаса”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, volumes 2 (Д – Ь), Ottawa: Ukrainian Mohylo-Mazepian Academy of Sciences; Ukrainian Language Association, →LCCN, page 698
• Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “ковбаса”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka