елха

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Bulgarian

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Черна елха (широколистно дърво)
Коледна елха с украшения

Etymology

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From Proto-Slavic *olьxa ~ *jelьxa (alder). Bulgarian descendants stem from variants with prothetic *j-, which has been subsequently eliminated (except dialectally).

Originally, the word seems to have referred broadly to any deciduous tree or even generally to any arboreal plant. This sense was apparently used in naming the Christmas tree. Since Christmas in Bulgaria occurs during winter, the later is traditionally made of some type of evergreen conifer. Eventually, this caused semantic drift towards coniferous trees. The similarity to (etymologically unrelated) ела́ (elá, fir) may have also facilitated the shift. Compare Russian ёлка (jólka, spruce) (< *edlъka).

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ɛɫˈxa]
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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елха́ (elháf (relational adjective елхо́в, diminutive елхи́ца)

  1. (dialectal) Alternative form of е́лша (élša, alder)
  2. decorated tree (typically an evergreen one, e.g. firs or spruces)
    ко́ледна елха́kóledna elháChristmas tree
    новогоди́шна елха́novogodíšna elháNew Year's tree
  3. (by generalization) conifer (usually fir)
    Synonym: ела́ (elá)

Declension

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Alternative forms

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  • е́лха (élha)Strandzha dialects

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  • елха”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
  • елха”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
  • Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “елха”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 493

Anagrams

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