mămăligă

See also: mamaliga

Romanian

Alternative forms

• măligă — regional

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly a substrate word or an expressive creation based on mamă or Latin mamilla (representing the idea of nourishment) +‎ -ică.

Alternately, it can be inherited from Latin [Term?], akin to Italian meliga (“maize, sorghum”), from Latin milium (“millet”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mə.məˈli.ɡə/

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

mămăligă f (plural mămăligi)

1. mamaliga, cornmeal mush, polenta (a porridge-like dish made of coarse maize-meal)
2. wimp, wuss

Declension

	singular			plural
	indefinite	definite		indefinite	definite
nominative-accusative	mămăligă	mămăliga		mămăligi	mămăligile
genitive-dative	mămăligi	mămăligii		mămăligi	mămăligilor
vocative	mămăligă, mămăligo			mămăligilor

Descendants

• → Yiddish: מאַמעליגע (mamelige)

See also

• mălai
• tocană, stew commonly served with mămăligă