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 каланча́ ― požárnaja kalančá ― fire-observation/fire-lookout tower
  2. (colloquial, animate, masculine or feminine) tall person, beanpole

Declension

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