IN GREEK
μπόρα
bora
sudden rain shower, downpour
IN TURKISH
bora
bora
squall, storm; also figuratively trouble
WEAR THE WORD
μπόρα in blue ink and bora in red, on a T shirt, a tote or a mug.
THE RECORD
- LENT BY, BORROWED BY
- Shared from a third language
- STARTED IN
- Venetian
- CATEGORY
- Places
- HOW THE MEANING DRIFTED
- Greek means a passing downpour; Turkish means a violent squall or storm.
- NOTES
- Venetian bora derives from Latin boreas, itself from Ancient Greek βορέας, so this is arguably a round trip for Greek. Nişanyan derives Turkish bora from Mongolian boruġa, rain, not Venetian, so the two words may be unrelated; the Greek side could not be checked.
COMMENTS
An editor reads every comment before it appears.
SOURCES
- General etymological consensus
- to verify
Etymologies are checked against the dictionaries and studies listed. An entry is stamped settled only when both the Greek and the Turkish side have been checked. Research for this ledger was compiled with AI assistance and reviewed by the editors.
HOW TO CITE THIS ENTRY
Gold, K. (ed.) (2026) ‘μπόρα / bora’, entry 320, Defter ή Tefteri: a ledger of shared Greek and Turkish words. https://defteritefteri.com/en/w/320-bora/. Accessed [day month year].