царевица

Ultimately derived from цар (car, “king”). According to the Institute for Bulgarian Language, there are two possible explanations:

• the word reflects the plant's origin from Цариград (Istanbul), as it was planted at the king's command;
• the less likely explanation is that the word is descriptive of the maize plant itself - a tall, "kingly" one.

By surface analysis, царев (carev) +‎ -ица (-ica).

• IPA^(key): [ˈt͡sarɛvit͡sɐ]
• Rhymes: -arɛvit͡sɐ
• Hyphenation^(key): ца‧ре‧ви‧ца

ца́ревица • (cárevica) f (relational adjective ца́ревичен)

1. (uncountable) maize (Zea mays), corn (in the sense of maize)
2. (countable) an ear of corn, especially sweet corn

• мле́чна ца́ревица (mléčna cárevica, “sweet corn”)
• сла́дка ца́ревица (sládka cárevica, “sweet corn”)

• “царевица”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• “царевица”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Chitanka, 2010
• “Каква е етимологията на думата царевица? [What is the etymology of the word царевица?]”, in Институт за български език [Institute for Bulgarian Language]‎^[1] (in Bulgarian), 29 December 2017, retrieved 5 August 2023