# Croatian (Kajkavian dialect): steklišt



## arwyn

Dobar dan. Imam jedno pitanje, sto znaci rijec "steklišt"?

I have read this phrase in an article where it was said that "niskoristi" and "steklište" have to be arrested. now, I get what 'niskoristi' means, but I am not sure about "steklište".


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## Duya

Neither of those means anything, to the best of my knowledge. Both look like a typo, or, even more likely, a bad OCR. What did you make from _niskoristi_? There is no such word, but it may be a typo for _niz koristi_ or _ne iskoristi_. There is word _stecište_, which means "gathering point", or phrase _stekli se_ ([they] have gathered, joined). HJP gives word _stekliš_, but as a very obscure term from Croatian history.


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## Anicetus

What Arwyn probably meant is _niškoristi_, which does mean something. HJP lists it as indeclinable, although _uhapsiti niškoristi_ sounds very odd to me -- I would have said _niškorist_ was a regular, declinable, adjective.
I've found the article most probably in question on Google, so if I'm not mistaken, Duya's link could very well explain what _steklište_ refers to.


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## Duya

Ah thanks. Just to summarize for an innocent reader (because we spoke in ciphers and URLs so far) : The article title reads "_Hapsimo samo steklište i niškoristi_", referring to words by Vladimir Bakarić, Croatian communist leader from 1971. Here, _stekliš(t)_ roughly means "mad dog", and is a derogatory term for members of Croatian nationalist party from 19th century, and _niškorist_ is a colloquial term from Zagreb, referring to an useless person.


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## arwyn

Thanks a lot. Yes,the terms were used by Bakaric who was one of the most important communist politicians in Croatia. He referred to those Croatian students who lead or participated in the student movement that fiercely and enthusiastically supported the so-called Croatian Spring in 1971.

Edit. Should've used diacritical marks, sorry. ;-)


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## DenisBiH

Anicetus said:


> ...
> HJP lists it as indeclinable, although uhapsiti niškoristi sounds very odd to me -- I would have said niškorist was a regular, declinable, adjective.
> ...





Duya said:


> ...and niškorist is a colloquial term from Zagreb, referring to an useless person.




I've never considered _niškorist _(f. noun in my usage) to be a colloquial term from Zagreb, to me it is a regular literary word. Here's an example of how I would use that word:


> ...smislio je (nepoznato je li sam ili nakon dugotrajnog brainstorminga  njegova impresivna trusta mozgova) spasonosni kalkulantski spin i  odlučio sav gnjev javnosti preusmjeriti na onu *niškorist *od svog  prethodnika Stjepana Mesića, koji se baškari po državnim vilama i vozika  u skupoj limuzini s tjelohraniteljskim mrgama dok narod gladuje.


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## Duya

DenisBiH said:


> I've never considered _niškorist _(f. noun in my usage) to be a colloquial term from Zagreb, to me it is a regular literary word. Here's an example of how I would use that word:



It's not in my word inventory, so I guessed it was of Kajkavian origin: it certainly sounds so, as it would probably read _nekorist(i)_ or _beskorist(i)_ if it were Štokavian. Judging by this column from Oslobođenje, that was the case indeed:



> Pravo da vam kažem ne bih znala za ovu riječ niškoristi da je nisam "pokupila" sa programa hrvatske televizije. Gledam je zahvaljujući kablovskoj koju redovno plaćam kao i ovu "našu" uz telefonski račun...


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## Brainiac

Da ne plaća redovno račune, ne bi znala za reč!  (Naši baš ne plaćaju za RTS koji ide uz račun za struju... )
"Cijeli članak dostupan pretplatnicima"....haha...

I thought stekliš came from German.... every time I see such words (vukojebina, stekliš, niškorist....) I know the thread has something to do with politics! 

I often hear _niškorist_ in combination with _levat_ ("Neko u koga se ne možeš pouzdati, neiskren, sklon varanju, đeriz, smrad"). 
What could be a synonym for stekliš?


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## itreius

_Stekliš_ comes from Kajkavian _stekel_, which means _furious_, _raging_. Here's the entry for the word _stekel_ on the Slovene SSKJ, with the same meaning.

Edit: Oh boy, I need to learn to read before posting in a thread.

Edit2:



> What could be a synonym for stekliš?



_Razjareni_?


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## Brainiac

Hvala.

Razjareni ... bik? Pa, možda je opasniji je od besnog psa!  Mada zvati neke psima baš ide uz jednog okorelog komunistu!
My grandma says: Besnik (onaj koji besni), in plural Besnici.... I guess it's archaic - she is the only person I know who uses the word....


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## Morana_

> _Stekliš_ comes from Kajkavian _stekel_, which means _furious_, _raging_. Here's the entry for the word _stekel_ on the Slovene SSKJ, with the same meaning.



Well, _stékel_ in Slovene actually means "infected with rabies".  One of the symptoms of rabies is large quantities of frothy saliva coming from the mouth; in Slovene: _pena teče iz ust_ and this is where the adjective _stekel_ comes from; it would literally mean "(froth) overflowing" - while the English noun "rabies" comes from Latin "rabere", which means "to rave (mad)".

_Stekel_ in Slovene only means "raging" or "raving mad" (not "furious") in a very figurative sense.


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## TriglavNationalPark

Morana_ said:


> Well, _stékel_ in Slovene actually means "infected with rabies".  One of the symptoms of rabies is large quantities of frothy saliva coming from the mouth; in Slovene: _pena teče iz ust_ and this is where the adjective _stekel_ comes from; it would literally mean "(froth) overflowing" - while the English noun "rabies" comes from Latin "rabere", which means "to rave (mad)".



According to Marko Snoj's _Slovenski etimološki slovar_, *stekel* (= rabid) derives from the past participle of *(v)steči* (= to run off), because mad (i.e. rabid) animals have a propensity to run around mindlessly.


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## Morana_

Yes, I know that, but I don't really buy it, it's a bit far off, if you ask me. 
I go with the frothy explanation - it's how some Kajkavian linguists explain it and I think it's much more likely. Besides, don't forget we have another similar expression in Slovene:_ peniti se_ in _penast_ ("to froth" and "frothy") that also mean "to rage" and "raging".

Either way, the point is: _stekel_ does not simply mean "raging", but "rabid"; it implies madness.


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## DenisBiH

Duya said:


> It's not in my word inventory, so I guessed it was  of Kajkavian origin: it certainly sounds so, as it would probably read _nekorist(i)_ or _beskorist(i)_ if it were Štokavian. Judging by this column from Oslobođenje, that was the case indeed:



A search through Historijski arhiv bh. štampe gives no hits before 1990 either, so you are probably right. I must have first heard it on the Croatian media, then. 



Brainiac said:


> I often hear _niškorist_ in combination with _levat_ ("Neko u koga se ne možeš pouzdati, neiskren, sklon varanju, đeriz, smrad").



Hm, đeriz? This is the first time I hear that word. And an Orientalism at that! Shame on me.


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