shuplakë

Albanian

Unclear. Possibly a prefixed derivative of Italian placca (“plate, plaque”) in sh-.^[1] Another possibility is a borrowing from a South Slavic language, ultimately from Proto-Slavic *šuplь (“howllow”); compare Serbo-Croatian šupalj.^[2] Dizdari suggests a borrowing from Turkish şaplak, of onomatopoeic origin.^[3] Based on Meyer, Orel suggests a borrowing from Serbo-Croatian šupljača.^[4]

shuplakë f (plural shuplaka, definite shuplaka, definite plural shuplakat)

slap
palm
measure across the four fingers of one hand, hand width
punishment inflicted by mountain spirits on a person who happens to interrupt their dancing or eating

^ Topalli, K. (2017) “shuplakë”, in Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe, Durrës, Albania: Jozef, pages 1435-1436
^ Meyer, G. (1891) “shuplakë”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian Language] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI, page 486
^ Topalli, K. (2017) “shuplakë”, in Fjalor Etimologjik i Gjuhës Shqipe, Durrës, Albania: Jozef, pages 1435-1436
^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “shuplakë”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 446