# ბილენცრა
## Georgian
### Etymology

Uncertain. On the basis of obsolete ბლენცნარა (blencnara, “a kind of fern”) and Laz ბილონცა (bilonʒa), Fähnrich-Sarǯvelaʒe reconstruct Proto-Georgian-Zan *blanc-, the reconstructions however do not take into account the forms ბილენცრა (bilencra) or ბლენცარა (blencara). Klimov doubts the nativeness of Kartvelian terms. Closely related to the synonymous Hamshen Armenian փիլունց (pʻiluncʻ), փիլինձ (pʻilinj), փիլունձ (pʻilunj), փիլօնչ (pʻilōnčʻ).
Bläsing tentatively derives the Kartvelian and Armenian forms from Byzantine Greek βλησκούνιν (blēskoúnin), φλησκούνιν (phlēskoúnin, “pennyroyal”) (Modern Greek φλησκούνι (fliskoúni)), which are diminutives of Ancient Greek βλήχων (blḗkhōn). Compare especially Byzantine Greek βλησκουνίτσα (blēskounítsa), βλησκουνίτσι (blēskounítsi), φλησκουνίτσιν (phlēskounítsin, “pennyroyal”), not mentioned by Bläsing (for their suffix see -ίτσα (-ítsa)).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [b̥ilent͡sʰɾa]
* Hyphenation: ბი‧ლენ‧ცრა

### Noun

ბილენცრა • (bilencra) (plural ბილენცრები)
* (dialectal, Upper Adjara) a kind of fern

#### Declension

Notes: archaic plurals might not exist.

#### See also

* გვიმრა (gvimra)

### References

* ↑ Orbeliani, Sulxan-Saba (1685–1716) “ბილენცრა”, in S. Iordanišvili, editor, Siṭq̇vis ḳona kartuli, romel ars leksiḳoni [Collection of Georgian words, that is a dictionary]‎, Tbilisi: Georgian SSR print, published 1949, page 50b
* ↑ Fähnrich, Heinz, Sarǯvelaʒe, Zurab (2000) Kartvelur enata eṭimologiuri leksiḳoni [Etymological Dictionary of the Kartvelian Languages] (in Georgian), 2nd edition, Tbilisi: University Press, page 113
* ↑ Fähnrich, Heinz (2007) Kartwelisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch [Kartvelian Etymological Dictionary] (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.18) (in German), Leiden, Boston: Brill, page 70
* 1 2 Klimov, G. A. (1998) Etymological Dictionary of the Kartvelian Languages (Trends in linguistics. Documentation; 16), New York, Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter, page 16
* ↑ Čubinašvili, Niḳo (1812–1825) “ბილენცრა”, in Kartuli leksiḳoni rusulis targamaniturt [Georgian Explanatory Dictionary with Russian Commentaries]‎, Saint Petersburg: Imperial Academy of Sciences
* ↑ Čubinov, David (1887) “ბლენცარა”, in Грузинско-русский словарь [Georgian–Russian Dictionary]‎, Saint Petersburg: Academy Press, column 110b
* ↑ Bläsing, Uwe (2001) “Arm. p‘ilunc‘ vs. laz. bilonc-, grg. blenc, Ein Beitrag zu den Bezeichnungen von Farnen (Pteropsida) im Kaukasus und Anatolien”, in Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia‎, volume 6, page 19, footnote 13 of 9–71

### Further reading

* Ɣlonṭi, Aleksandre (1974) “ბილენცრა”, in Kartul ḳilo-tkmata siṭq̇vis ḳona [Dictionary of dialectal Georgian words]‎ (in Georgian), volume I, Tbilisi: Academy Press, page 74a
* Maq̇ašvili, Aleksandre (1961) “გვიმრა”, in Boṭaniḳuri leksiḳoni [Botanical Dictionary]‎, 2nd edition, Tbilisi: Sabč̣ota Sakartvelo
* Čubinov, David (1840) “ბლენცარა”, in Грузинско-русско-французский словарь [Georgian–Russian–French Dictionary], Saint Petersburg: Academy Press, page 55a, mistranslated as millet
* Čuxua, Merab (2019) Manana Mač̣avariani, Manana Buḳia, editors, Georgian–Circassian–Apkhazian Etymological Dictionary (expanded edition)‎, Tbilisi: Tbilisi State University Press, pages 108–109, compares Adyghe пцелы (pcelə, “willow”) and Kabardian дзэл (dzɛl, “willow; box tree”) (whence Ossetian дзала (ʒala, “sedge”)). Note however that according to Shagirov, Adyghe-Kabardian is borrowed from a Turkic source, while Ossetian is borrowed from Kabardian. At the same time, Abaev tentatively derives the Ossetian word from Georgian ჭალა (č̣ala, “floodplain”).