балия
Bulgarian
Etymology
An old ī-stem agent noun from Old Church Slavonic балии (balii), reanalyzed with the suffix -ия (-ija). Probably related to Bulgarian ба́я (bája, “to cast charms”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈbalijɐ]
Audio: (file)
Noun
ба́лия • (bálija) m (feminine ба́лийца)
Usage notes
The term (along with its synonyms) nowadays is used specifically for old-time healers, which use charms and folk medicine. The technical term for (professional) healer is лека́р (lekár) (native) or до́ктор (dóktor), меди́к (medík) (borrowings).
Declension
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| indefinite | ба́лия bálija |
ба́лии bálii |
| definite | ба́лията bálijata |
ба́лиите báliite |
Derived terms
- ба́лийство (bálijstvo), балу́ване (balúvane, “enchantry”) (archaic)
- ба́лност (bálnost, “healing charm”) (archaic)
Related terms
- ба́йка (bájka, “enchanter”) (dialectal)
- ба́сня (básnja, “fable”)
- ба́ба (bába, “grandmother, old wise woman”)
References
- балии in Исторически речник на българския език, Sofia University "St. Clement Ohridsky"