каланча

Russian

Etymology

Borrowed no later than the 18th century from a Turkic language, where кала meant "fortress" and -ча is a diminutive suffix, with epenthetic -н- (cf. каранда́ш (karandáš)). Compare Tatar кала (qala, city, town), Kazakh қала (qala, city, town), Azerbaijani qala (castle), Turkish kale (fort). Ultimately from Arabic قَلْعَة (qalʕa, fortress).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [kəɫɐnʲˈt͡ɕa]

Noun

каланча́ • (kalančá) f inan or m anim or f anim (genitive каланчи́, nominative plural каланчи́, genitive plural каланче́й)

  1. watchtower
    пожа́рная каланча́požárnaja kalančáfire-observation/fire-lookout tower
  2. (colloquial, animate, masculine or feminine) tall person, beanpole

Declension

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