# vatër
## Albanian
### Alternative forms

* votër — Gheg

### Etymology

Likely inherited from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₁ter- (“fire”), whence also Proto-Iranian *HáHtr̥š (“fire”) and Latin āter (“black, darkened *(by fire)”), ātrium (“room *(where the fireplace is)”). Also found in Balkan Romance and most Slavic languages, although the presence of va- ~ vo- originating from earlier *o (cf. vadhë, varfër, vesh, etc.), itself from earlier *ā, reveals it as an originally Albanian term, later borrowed in its Tosk form into the other languages. It arrived in some Slavic languages likely through Balkan Romance. An early borrowing from Latin āter, ātrium, although it cannot be entirely ruled out, is improbable, while a borrowing from Iranian is deemed unlikely due to geographical-historical reasons and the semantic field of the term.
Compare French foyer and German Fokus, Brennpunkt for the scientifical senses.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: /ˈvatəɾ/
* Rhymes: -atəɾ

### Noun

vatër f (plural vatra, definite vatra, definite plural vatrat)
* hearth, fireplace
    vatër zjarri ― fireplace
* hearth, hearthstone (of an oven, stove, etc.)
    vatër furre ― hearth of the oven
* small patch, strip of land
    Synonyms: lehe, vulla
* (figurative) home, birthplace; family
    Synonyms: vendlindje; familje
* (figurative) cradle, hotbed
    Synonyms: çerdhe, djep
    vatër kulture ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
    vatër malarieje ― hotbed of malaria
* (geometry) focus (of a conic)
* (optics) focus, focal point
* (anatomy) nerve centre
* (medicine) main location of an infection or disease
* a lot, many
    Synonyms: shumë, tufë
    një vatër miq ― a lot of friends

#### Derived terms

* në krye të vatrës
* vatërprishur
* vatërshuar
* vatërz

#### Descendants

(All related terms placed here for convenience, the exact trajectory is most likely more complex. See § Etymology for more details.)
* → Balkan Romance:
** Aromanian: vatrã, veatrã
** Istro-Romanian: votrę
** Megleno-Romanian: vatră
** Romanian: vatră
*** → Gagauz: vatra
* → Hungarian: vatra (dialectal)
* → Romani:
    Balkan Romani: vatra — Crimean
    Carpathian Romani: vatra — East Slovak
    Vlax Romani: vatra — Kalderaš, Lovara
* → Slavic:
** Bulgarian: ва́тра (vátra) (dialectal)
** Czech: vatra
** Polish: watra (dialectal)
** Serbo-Croatian: vȁtra / ва̏тра
** Ukrainian: ва́тра (vátra) (dialectal)

### References

* 1 2 3 Demiraj, Bardhyl (1997) “vát/ër,-ra”, in Albanische Etymologien: Untersuchungen zum albanischen Erbwortschatz [Albanian Etymologies: […]] (Leiden Studies in Indo-European; 7)‎ (in German), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 410ff.
* ↑ Mallory, J. P., Adams, D. Q., editors (1997), Encyclopedia of Indo-European Culture, London, Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, page 263
* ↑ Curtis, Matthew C. (2017–2018) “Chapter XV: Albanian”, in Klein, Jared S., Joseph, Brian D., Fritz, Matthias, editors, Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics: An International Handbook (Handbücher zur Sprach- und Kommunikationswissenschaft [Handbooks of Linguistics and Communication Science]; 41.2), Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, →ISBN, § The dialectology of Albanian, page 1805
* 1 2 3 Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “vatër ~ votër”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 495f.
* ↑ Domosileckaja, M. V. (2002) Albansko-vostočnoromanskij sopostavitelʹnyj ponjatijnyj slovarʹ: Skotovodčeskaja leksika [Albanian – Eastern Romance Comparative Conceptual Dictionary: The Pastoral Vocabulary] (in Russian), Saint Petersburg: Nauka, →ISBN, page 457
* ↑ Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1971), “ватра”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 1 (А – З), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, →ISBN, page 123
* ↑ Nikolaḯdis, K. (1909) “βάτρᾰ”, in Ετυμολογικόν λεξικόν της Κουτσοβλαχικής γλώσσης [Etymologikón lexikón tis Koutsovlachikís glóssis] (in Greek), Athens: Τύποις Π. Δ. Σακελλαρίου [Týpois P. D. Sakellaríou], page 114
* ↑ “vatër”, in Hrvatski jezični portal [Croatian language portal] (in Serbo-Croatian), 2006–2025
* ↑ Melnychuk, O. S., editor (1982–2012), “ватра”, in Етимологічний словник української мови [Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language] (in Ukrainian), Kyiv: Naukova Dumka
* ↑ Brückner, Aleksander (1927) “watra”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka polskiego [Etymological Dictionary of the Polish Language] (in Polish), Warsaw: Wiedza Powszechna
* 1 2 Meyer, G. (1891) “vatrɛ”, in Etymologisches Wörterbuch der albanesischen Sprache [Etymological Dictionary of the Albanian Language] (in German), Strasbourg: Karl J. Trübner, →DOI, page 464f.

### Further reading

* “vát/ër,~ra”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎, 1980, page 2117ab
* AIS: Sprach- und Sachatlas Italiens und der Südschweiz [Linguistic and Ethnographic Atlas of Italy and Southern Switzerland] – map 931: “il focolare” – on navigais-web.pd.istc.cnr.it
* Mann, S. E. (1948) “vatër”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 546b
* vatër on Wikipedia.Wikipedia