vëllam

See also: vellam

Albanian

Alternative forms

• vëllamë
• vllam, vllamë — dialectal

Etymology

From vëlla (“brother”). The secondary sense “best man” is shared with Macedonian побратим (pobratim, literally “blood brother”).

This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vəˈɫam/
• (Arvanitika) IPA^(key): [vəˈɣaːm]
• Rhymes: -am

Noun

vëllam m (plural vëllamë, definite vëllami, definite plural vëllamët)

1. blood brother (non-related, by oath)

   Synonym: probatin

   bëhem vëllam me ― fraternise with

2. best man
3. (dialectal) fraternisation, adelphopoiesis

   Synonym: vëllamëri

Declension

Declension of vëllam

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vëllam	vëllami	vëllamë	vëllamët
accusative		vëllamin
dative	vëllami	vëllamit	vëllamëve	vëllamëve
ablative			vëllamësh

Descendants

• vëllamëri
• vëllamërisht
• vëllamëroj
• vëllami

 

Descendants

• → Aromanian: avlami
• → Greek: βλάμης (vlámis)

References

• “vëllám,~i”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎^[1] (in Albanian), 1980, page 2155a
• Mann, S. E. (1948) “vllam”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 561
• Leotti, Angelo (1916) “vëllám-i”, in L'albanese parlato (in Italian), Milan: U. Hoepli, page 183
• Weigand, Gustav (1914) “vëllā-j […] vëllám-i”, in Albanesisch–deutsches und deutsch–albanesisches Wörterbuch (in German), Leipzig: J. A. Barth, page 99a
• Kristoforidhi, Kostandin (1904) “βε̯λάμι”, in Λεξικὸν τῆς Ἀλβανικῆς γλώσσης [Lexikòn tês Albanikês glṓssēs] (in Greek), Athens, page 19
• Meyer, G. (1891) “vɛłā́”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian Language] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI, page 469