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bătal
wether (a castrated ram) /bəˈtal/
noun#4399 most common
Also: castrated ram, gelded ram
Example sentences
Bătalul paște iarbă.
The wether grazes on grass.
Ciobanul are un bătal mare în turmă.
The shepherd has a big wether in the flock.
Bătalii sunt mai liniștiți decât berbecii necastrați.
Wethers are calmer than uncastrated rams.
În unele sate, bătalul poartă clopotul care conduce turma.
In some villages, the wether wears the bell that leads the flock.
Fermierul a vândut trei bătali la târgul de toamnă, păstrând berbecii pentru reproducere.
The farmer sold three wethers at the autumn fair, keeping the rams for breeding.
Tradiția de a folosi un bătal drept animal conducător al turmei se păstrează încă în satele de munte.
The tradition of using a wether as the lead animal of the flock still survives in mountain villages.
Declension
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | bătal | bătali |
| Genitive | bătalului | bătalilor |
| Accusative | bătal | bătali |
| Vocative | bătalule | bătalilor |
Word family
bătalcastrated, gelded (said of a ram)bătala wether, a castrated ram
bătălașregional diminutive: a young castrated ram
Etymology
Bătal came into Romanian from Ottoman Turkish batal, itself from Arabic baṭṭāl, meaning idle or unfit for use. In Romanian shepherd vocabulary the word narrowed to a specific sense: a ram castrated because it is unfit for breeding, then kept on as a calm lead animal for the flock. This kind of Turkish loanword is common in Romanian pastoral and rural terms, a legacy of centuries of Ottoman contact.
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