Romanian edit

Alternative forms edit

Etymology edit

Unknown. Often considered either a substratum term or derived from Albanian këlbazë, gëlbazë. Another theory suggests the Albanian may instead be a borrowing from a local Romanian or Eastern Romance language (compare Aromanian gãlbadzã), and that the word derives ultimately from a Vulgar Latin clavella, through metathesis reaching a form *calvella, in turning giving early Romanian *călbea, to which the suffix -ză was later added (cf. this suffix in cinteză, pupăză, spetează, sfârlează). Compare French clavelée (sheep pox, malady, disease affecting ovines), claveau (virus causing sheep pox), Italian chiavello, chiavella, from a Latin *clavellus, from clavus. For the meaning referring to the plant, it may indicate its use as a form of traditional medicine in liver illnesses.[1]

Noun edit

gălbează f (plural gălbeze)

  1. a disease of the liver affecting sheep (ovines) and bovines
  2. the parasite responsible for the aforementioned disease
  3. any of several species of parasitic plants in the genus Cuscuta, notably dodder and hellweed (Cuscuta epithymum)

Declension edit

References edit

  1. ^ gălbează in DEX online—Dicționare ale limbii române (Dictionaries of the Romanian language)