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dum·ka

(dmkə)

n. pl. dum·ky(-kē) also dum·kas

1. A Slavic folk song that alternates in mood between liveliness and melancholy.

2. An instrumental composition or movement imitative of such a folk song.

[Ultimately (via Czech, since the dumka was popularized as a form in classical music principally by Antonín Dvořák) from Ukrainian dumka, diminutive of duma, thought, memory, melancholy narrative poem or ballad, of Germanic origin; see dhē- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

Indo-European Roots

Semitic Roots

The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.

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