Bulaestian /мала|йеш/ ‘hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata’ as a result of early Romanian-Bucovinian interactions

Abstract

More than fifteen years ago, Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ 'hawthorh, Crataegus laevigata' was introduced into scientific circulation. This phytonym is a non-trivial Romanianism in the dialect of the Bulaestian Ukrainians. Despite its non-triviality, however, over the past time this Romanianism has not become the subject of a special scientific examination, which would allow us to clarify both the conditions of its appearance in the dialect of the Bulaestian Ukrainians, and, in fact, its original Romanian source. This is what makes this study, as it seems, very relevant. Thus, the purpose of the article is to analyze in detail the context of the emergence of the Bulaestian Romanianism /мала^|еш/ 'hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata', and to establish both its original Romanian source and the circumstances of the formation of this phytonym in Romanian language, and its subsequent borrowing by the Bulaestian dialect. Thus, Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ 'hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata' is formed from Romanian mălai 'millet, Panicum miliaceum', using the Romanian diminutive suffix -eș. However, when referring to the actual Romanian data, the original Romanian phytonym, the source for Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ could not be found. The main term denoting hawthorn in Romanian is păducel. In Ukrainian dialects, a direct analogy to Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ is also not found. However, in some Bukovinian dialects (specifically: Zastavna, Kitsmani, Storozhinets, Novoselytsia), the phytonyms малай, малаец, малайок are known, and precisely with the meaning 'hawthorn, Crataegus oxyacantha l.'. Also, in four villages in the area of the Central Podolian dialects, the phytonyms кашка-малашка, мамаличка 'hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna Jacq.' are recorded. The phytonyms кашка-малашка, мамаличка 'hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna Jacq.', despite their obvious inequality to both Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ 'hawthorn' and the Bukovinian малай, малаец, малайок 'hawthorn', are nevertheless also obviously etymologically related to the Romanian mălai. Thus, we have a specific Bulaestian-Bukovinian parallel, absent even in the Hutsul dialects (also closely related to the Bulaestian dialect). And some facts allow us to assume that both the appearance of the Bulaestian /мала^|йеш/ 'hawthorn' and the emergence of the Bukovinian малай, малаец, малайок 'hawthorn' were part of a common episode in the history of the Bulaestian Ukrainians and speakers of the Bukovinian dialects, and were associated with Bukovina. First of all, this includes the fact that the semantics of the main Romanian name for hawthorn, păducél, is accompanied in the Romanian folk tradition by significant negative connotations. Which, in all likelihood, should have prevented the transfer of the meaning of mălai to hawthorn. Indeed, the etymology of the Romanian name for hawthorn, păducél, is associated with the Latin (and Romanian) word meaning 'louse'. Moreover, in the Romanian folk tradition there is a widespread belief that whoever eats hawthorn fruits will be filled with lice. Moldova is included in the zone where the phytonym păducél is used as the name of hawthorn. That is, accordingly, in the zone of distribution in the popular consciousness of negative connotations associated with this phytonym. Accordingly, in all likelihood, the transfer of the name of millet to hawthorn was possible only in some, fairly narrowly localized zones of the Romanian linguistic space, where the attitude to hawthorn was different, and just as positive as to millet. And these, in all likelihood, were just some mountainous zones of the Carpathians, where hawthorn, in conditions unsuitable for agriculture, could be actively used in food as at least a partial substitute for cereals. In this regard, it is noteworthy that it is the Ukrainian Carpathian region (including Bukovina) that is included in the area of such a species of hawthorn as 'Ukrainian hawthorn, Crataegus ucrainica'. Its fruits, 11-13 mm in diameter, are almost twice as large as the fruits of the common hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata (7-10 mm in diameter). Which, obviously, significantly increased its food appeal in the eyes of people of traditional cultures. Based on the facts presented, it seems more likely that Bulaestian /mala^|yesh/ 'hawthorn, Crataegus laevigata' arose precisely in the Bukovinian period of the history of the Bulaestian Ukrainians, in the region of Bukovina, and, in all likelihood, as a result of interaction with the same group of the Romanian population.