vatră

See also: vatra, Vatra, Vatră, and vatrã

Romanian

Etymology

Unknown. Commonly considered a substrate word. Probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁ter-, through some intermediate; compare Avestan 𐬁𐬙𐬀𐬭𐬱 (ātarš, “fire”), Albanian vatër (which may come ultimately from an Iranian language such as Scythian or Sarmatian). Sometimes considered to be derived or borrowed from the Albanian vatër (definite form vatra), from Proto-Albanian *ōtar; compare also Serbo-Croatian vatra (“fire”), Czech vatra. The relationships between the languages are unclear, and it is disputed which language borrowed from which, or if it had a common source. It may be that some of the Slavic cognates were borrowed from proto-Romanian or other Vlach languages, through semi-nomadic Aromanian shepherds. Another theory suggested is Byzantine Greek βάθρον (báthron). On the basis of the characteristic of Albanian adding an initial 'v' to words of ancient origin that begin with a vowel (compare vesh from Indo-European, verbër from Latin orbus, etc.), the evidence may point more to an Albanian origin for the Romanian word, as it is the only language in the Balkan region which regularly does so. Compare Aromanian vatrã.

See Proto-Iranian *HáHtr̥š (“fire”) for more.

Noun

vatră f (plural vetre)

1. fireplace, hearth, fireside
2. (by extension, figuratively) home, house, dwelling, abode

   Synonyms: casă, domiciliu, locuință

Declension

Declension of vatră

	singular		plural
	indefinite articulation	definite articulation	indefinite articulation	definite articulation
nominative/accusative	(o) vatră	vatra	(niște) vetre	vetrele
genitive/dative	(unei) vetre	vetrei	(unor) vetre	vetrelor
vocative	vatră, vatro		vetrelor

Descendants

• → Gagauz: vatra