Turkish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Inherited from Ottoman Turkish قرق ییلده بر (ḳırḳ yılda bir),[1] equivalent to kırk (forty) +‎ yıl (year) +‎ -da (locative suffix) +‎ bir (a, one, indefinite determiner), literally once in/every forty years.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈkɯɾk.jɯɫ.da.biɾ/
  • Hyphenation: kırk‧yıl‧da‧bir

Adverb

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kırkyılda bir

  1. (idiomatic) very rarely, once in a blue moon
    Synonyms: kırkyılın başı, ayda yılda bir
  2. (idiomatic) finally after a very long time
    Synonym: kırkyılın başı
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References

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  1. ^ Redhouse, James W. (1890) “قرق ییلده بر”, in A Turkish and English Lexicon[1], Constantinople: A. H. Boyajian, page 2223

Further reading

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