# Croatian: jezerača



## AndrasBP

Hello,

A Croat once told me that in some Croatian dialects they use the word "*jezerača*" for "a thousand", which supposedly comes from Hungarian "ezer" (1000).

Can anyone confirm this?


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## Panceltic

Yeah, it's a thing in Kajkavian dialects of Croatian. Also in Slovenian close to the Hungarian border.


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## AndrasBP

Thank you.
Do you know what context would it be used in? Money, years, people? Would they say "deset jezerača" instead of "deset tisuća" ?


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## dihydrogen monoxide

In Croatian if you were to say there's a lot of something, you would say
more 'sea' in some BCS dialects you would say jezero 'lake' of something.


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## Zec

I think this is not the same thing. First is a language-internal metaphor, second is due to Hungarian _ezer_ 'thousand' being assimilated to native _jezero_ 'lake' when being borrowed. I'm pretty sure _jezero dinari_, which my acquaintance used (where I live we use the Greek loanword _(h)iljada_) means exactly one thousand and not just a lot of money.


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## AndrasBP

Zec said:


> second is due to Hungarian _ezer_ 'thousand' being assimilated to native _jezero_ 'lake' when being borrowed.


Interesting.



Zec said:


> I'm pretty sure _jezero dinari_, which my acquaintance used


What about the ending in jezer*ača*? Where was your acquaintance from?


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## Zec

He was from Varaždin. I can't help you much myself since I don't use these words.


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## Panceltic

I am familiar with "jezerača" being used as the name for a 1000-whatever banknote (I think I heard it used in the famous Kajkavian TV series "Gruntovčani"), but not as thousand in general. That would be more like "jezer(o)", as used in Prekmurje Slovene as well.


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