From shqip + -ëri. historically, from shkyp + -ëni, old pronunciation of shqipoj, from Latin excipiere. still called Shkypënia by conservative dialects in the north. changed to dialectal Shqipëri in the 19th century to associate it with the word for eagle shqipe, which derived from Proto-Celtic *sklubos (“eagle”). compare Welsh ysglyf (“bird of prey”)[2]
Petar Skok suggested that this word is originated from Scupi (Shkupi), the capital of the Roman province of Dardania (today's Skopje).[3] According to Petar Skok, the Albanian demonym Shkuptar (as in inhabitant of Skopje) changed to Shkiptar, which is still used among Arvanite Albanians in Greece, and later to Shqiptar.[4]
Shqipëri f (definite Shqipëria)
singular | ||
---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | |
nominative | Shqipëri | Shqipëria |
accusative | Shqipërinë | |
dat./abl. | Shqipërie | Shqipërisë |