Contionary:κυβεντ

Balkan

Etymology

Cf. Aromanian wikt:cuvendã (“word”), derived from Latin wikt:conventum (“coming together, gathering”) or Albanian wikt:kuvend (“convention, assembly, gathering”), and also Romanian wikt:cuvânt (“word”). The Greek wikt:κουβέντα (kouvénta, “conversation, chat; word phrase”) also developed this sense.

The semantic shift from "meeting, gathering, assembly" to "word" may have been due to the importance of assemblies and gatherings where words and ideas were exchanged historically; this also affected Macedonian wikt:збор (zbor, “word”), which derives from the Slavic word for "assembly, meeting, gathering" (through a process of regional linguistic convergence known as the Balkan sprachbund, due to the close interaction of these languages' speakers). The Aromanian synonym wikt:zbor was a likely loanword from this Macedonian word. This semantic shift is not found in most other Slavic language cognates; cf. Russian wikt:съборъ (sʺbor) and Old Church Slavonic wikt:съборъ (sŭborŭ, “meeting, council”), and also the Macedonian doublet wikt:собор (sobor, “gathering”).

Pronunciation

(Balkan) IPA: /ku.vent/

noun

κυβεντ

1. word, phrase