Albanian Language

Loan Words

Illyrian Cognates

brisa , "husk of grapes"; cf. Alb bërsí "lees, dregs; mash" (< PA * brutiā )

• loúgeon , "pool"; cf. Alb lag "to wet, soak, bathe, wash" (< PA * lauga ), lëgatë "pool" (< PA * leugatâ ), lakshte "dew" (< PA * laugista )
• mandos , "small horse"; cf. Alb mëz, mâz "poney", Messapian Iuppiter Menzana , byname for Messapian supreme deity, Sanskrit mandura "stable for horses", Thracian Mezenai "the divine horseman", Manduria , town in Apulia founded by Messapians; cf. Ro mânz .
• rhinos , "fog, mist"; cf. OAlb ren , mod. Alb re, rê "cloud" (< PA * rina )

Greek Influence

Early Greek words borrowed from Albanian are mainly commodity items and trade goods.

• bagëm "oil for anointment" < Gk báptisma "anointment"
• bletë "hive; bee" < dial. Gk mélitta "honey-bee" (Gk mélissa ).
• brukë "tamarisk" < Gk mourikē
• drapër "sickle" < Gk (NW) drápanon
• kopsht "garden" < Gk (NW) kāpos
• kumbull "plum" < Gk kokkumēlon
• lakër "cabbage, green vegetables" < Gk lákhanon "green; vegetable"
• lëpjetë "orach, dock" < Gk lápathon
• lyej "to smear, oil" < * elaiwā < Gk elai(w)on "oil"
• mokër "millstone" < Gk (NW) mākhaná "device, instrument"
• mollë "apple tree" < Gk (NW) mālon "apple"
• ngjalë "eel" < Gk egchelys
• pjepër "melon" < Gk pépon "melon"
• presh "leek" < Gk práson
• shpellë "cave" < Gk spēlaion "cave"
• trumzë "thyme" < Gk thýmbra, thrýmbē

Gothic Borrowings

• fat "groom, husband" < Goth brūþ faþ s "bridegroom"
• magar "donkey, ass" < * margë < Goth * marh "horse"
• petk "herder's coat; clothing" < Goth paida ; cf. OHG pfeit , OE pād
• shkulkë "branch indicating a pasture is off limits" < Goth skulka "guardian"
• shkumë "foam" < Goth scūma
• tirq "trousers" < Late Latin tubrucus < Goth * þiobroc "knee-britches"; cf. OHG dioh-bruoh

The earliest accepted documentation in the Albanian language is from the 15th century AD. The earliest reference to a Lingua Albanesca is from a 1285 document of Ragusa. This is a time when Albanian Principalities start to be mentioned and expand inside and outside the Byzantine Empire. It is assumed that Greek and Balkan Latin (which was the ancestor of Romanian and other Balkan Romance languages), would exert a great influence on Albanian. Examples of words borrowed from Latin: qytet < civitas (city), qiell < caelum (sky), mik < amicus (friend).

After the Slavs arrived in the Balkans, another source of Albanian vocabulary were the Slavic languages, especially Bulgarian. The rise of the Ottoman Empire meant an influx of Turkish words; this also entailed the borrowing of Persian and Arabic words through Turkish. Surprisingly the Persian words seem to have been absorbed the most. Some loanwords from Modern Greek also exist especially in the south of Albania. A lot of the loaned words have been resubstituted from Albanian rooted words or modern Latinized (international) words.