кутър

Bulgarian

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *kutrъ, cognate with Macedonian кутре (kutre, “puppy”), of unclear further origin. Proposed hypotheses include:

• Of onomatopoeic origin, related to the call кут-кут (kut-kut) (for calling up canines or birds), initially referring specifically to puppies or cubs and later generalized to convey smallness. Compare Russian кутёнок (kutjónok, “cub”);
• Derived from the root of dialectal ку́я (kúja, “to hew, to forge”) (with obsolete suffix *-trъ);
• Akin to Iranian terms, among which Persian کوچک (kučak, “small, young”).

Specifically for the figurative meaning “pitiful”, BER also considers possible borrowing from Ancient Greek κούτρα (koútra, “nob”), probably of onomatopoeic origin (cf. κουτός (koutós, “stupid”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkutɐr]

Adjective

ку́тър • (kútǎr) (adverb ку́тро, abstract noun ку́трост) (dialectal)

1. tiny, little, small
2. (figurative) pitiful, meagre, wretched

Declension

Positive forms of ку́тър

	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
indefinite	ку́тър kútǎr	ку́тра kútra	ку́тро kútro	ку́три kútri
definite (subject form)	ку́трият kútrijat	ку́трата kútrata	ку́трото kútroto	ку́трите kútrite
definite (object form)	ку́трия kútrija

Comparative forms of ку́тър

	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
indefinite	по́-ку́тър pó-kútǎr	по́-ку́тра pó-kútra	по́-ку́тро pó-kútro	по́-ку́три pó-kútri
definite (subject form)	по́-ку́трият pó-kútrijat	по́-ку́трата pó-kútrata	по́-ку́трото pó-kútroto	по́-ку́трите pó-kútrite
definite (object form)	по́-ку́трия pó-kútrija

Superlative forms of ку́тър

	masculine	feminine	neuter	plural
indefinite	на́й-ку́тър náj-kútǎr	на́й-ку́тра náj-kútra	на́й-ку́тро náj-kútro	на́й-ку́три náj-kútri
definite (subject form)	на́й-ку́трият náj-kútrijat	на́й-ку́трата náj-kútrata	на́й-ку́трото náj-kútroto	на́й-ку́трите náj-kútrite
definite (object form)	на́й-ку́трия náj-kútrija

Derived terms

• кутре́ (kutré, “puppy; pinky finger”)
• кутре́ц (kutréc, “puppy, cub”) (dialectal)

Related terms

• ку́там (kútam), ку́твам (kútvam, “to jostle, to strike”) (dialectal, possibly related, if grammatical in origin)

References

• “кутри”, in Речник на българския език [Dictionary of the Bulgarian Language] (in Bulgarian), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, 2014
• Nayden Gerov (1897) “ку́търъ, -тра, -тро”, in Рѣчникъ на Блъгарскꙑй язꙑкъ. Съ тлъкувание рѣчи-тꙑ на Блъгарскꙑ и на Русскꙑ. [Dictionary of the Bulgarian language]‎^[1] (in Bulgarian), volume 2, Plovdiv: Дружествена печꙗтница "Съгласие.", page 436
• Georgiev, Vladimir I., editor (1986), “кутър¹”, in Български етимологичен речник [Bulgarian Etymological Dictionary] (in Bulgarian), volume 3 (крес¹ – мѝнго¹), Sofia: Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Pubg. House, page 162