Etymology

From a SlavicCategory:English terms derived from Slavic languages#BABKA language likely via YiddishCategory:English terms derived from Yiddish#BABKA באַבקע (babke). Compare baba (“rum soaked cake”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈbɑb.kə/Category:English 2-syllable words#BABKACategory:English terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

  Category:English terms with audio pronunciation#BABKA

Noun

babka (plural babkas)Category:English lemmas#BABKACategory:English nouns#BABKACategory:English countable nouns#BABKACategory:English entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. A Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins; or with some single flavoring, e.g. chocolate, lemon, etc.
   • 2025 April 22, Chris Marshall, “The extraordinary rise of bakery tourism: ‘People travel from all over the world. It’s mind-blowing!’”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     A couple of weeks ago, my family and I also travelled an hour or so to sample the babkas and honey croissants at Farro bakery in Bristol.

     Category:English terms with quotations#BABKA

Anagrams

• kabab, Kabba

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈbapka]Category:Czech terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA
• Rhymes: -apkaCategory:Rhymes:Czech/apka#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Czech/apka/2 syllables#BABKA

Noun

babka fCategory:Czech lemmas#BABKACategory:Czech nouns#BABKACategory:Czech entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Czech feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. (informalCategory:Czech informal terms#BABKA) old woman

   Synonym: stařena

2. mushroom of species Xerocomellus chrysenteronCategory:Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)#Xerocomellus%20chrysenteron

   Synonym: hřib žlutomasý

Further reading

• “babka”, in Příruční slovník jazyka českého (in Czech), 1935–1957
• “babka”, in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého (in Czech), 1960–1971, 1989
• “babka”, in Internetová jazyková příručka (in Czech), 2008–2026

Etymology

Borrowed from EnglishCategory:Indonesian terms borrowed from English#BABKACategory:Indonesian terms derived from English#BABKA babka, most likely from YiddishCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Yiddish#BABKA באַבקע (babke), from SlavicCategory:Indonesian terms derived from Slavic languages#BABKA.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbap.ka/Category:Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA
• Rhymes: -ka, -aCategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/ka#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/ka/2 syllables#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/a#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Indonesian/a/2 syllables#BABKA
• Hyphenation: bab‧ka

Noun

babka (plural babka-babka)Category:Indonesian lemmas#BABKACategory:Indonesian nouns#BABKACategory:Indonesian entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. (cookingCategory:id:Cooking#BABKA) babka: a Central and Eastern European coffee cake flavored with orange rind, rum, almonds, and raisins

Further reading

• “babka”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Etymology 1

Borrowed from RussianCategory:Ingrian terms borrowed from Russian#BABKACategory:Ingrian terms derived from Russian#BABKA бабка (babka).

Etymology 2

Borrowed from RussianCategory:Ingrian terms borrowed from Russian#BABKACategory:Ingrian terms derived from Russian#BABKA бабка (babka).

References

• Ruben E. Nirvi (1971), Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 383
• Arvo Laanest (1978), Isuri keele ajalooline foneetika ja morfoloogia [The historical phonology and morphology of the Ingrian language]‎, Tallinn, page 25

Etymology

baba +‎ -kaCategory:Lower Sorbian terms suffixed with -ka#BABKA.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbap.ka/Category:Lower Sorbian terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA
• Rhymes: -apkaCategory:Rhymes:Lower Sorbian/apka#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Lower Sorbian/apka/2 syllables#BABKA
• Syllabification: bab‧ka

Noun

babka fCategory:Lower Sorbian lemmas#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian nouns#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. diminutive of baba (“midwife, old woman, woman”)Category:Lower Sorbian diminutive nouns#BABKA
2. midwife

Noun

babka fCategory:Lower Sorbian lemmas#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian nouns#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Lower Sorbian feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. diminutive of baba (“sponge cake”)Category:Lower Sorbian diminutive nouns#BABKA

Further reading

• Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928), “babka”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
• Starosta, Manfred (1999), “babka”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (13^th CE) /ˈbabka/Category:Old Czech terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /ˈbapka/Category:Old Czech terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA

Noun

babka fCategory:Old Czech lemmas#BABKACategory:Old Czech nouns#BABKACategory:Old Czech entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Old Czech feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. diminutive of bába (“grandma, parent's mother”)Category:Old Czech diminutive nouns#BABKA

Further reading

• Jan Gebauer (1903–1916), “babka”, in Slovník staročeský (in Czech), Prague: Česká grafická společnost "unie", Česká akademie císaře Františka Josefa pro vědy, slovesnost a umění

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-SlavicCategory:Old Polish terms inherited from Proto-Slavic#BABKACategory:Old Polish terms derived from Proto-Slavic#BABKA *babъka. By surface analysis, baba +‎ -kaCategory:Old Polish terms suffixed with -ka#BABKA. First attested in the second half of the 14th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (10^th–15^th CE) /ba(ː)pka/Category:Old Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA
• IPA^(key): (15^th CE) /bapka/, /bɒpka/Category:Old Polish terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA

Noun

babka fCategory:Old Polish lemmas#BABKACategory:Old Polish nouns#BABKACategory:Old Polish entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Old Polish feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. (attested in Greater PolandCategory:Greater Poland Old Polish#BABKA) diminutive of baba (“grandma, parent's mother”)Category:Old Polish diminutive nouns#BABKA
   • 1902 [1407], “Wybór zapisek sądowych grodzkich i ziemskich wielkopolskich z XV wieku”, in Franciszek Piekosiński, editor, Studia, rozprawy i materiały z dziedziny historii polskiej i prawa polskiego‎, volume 6, Poznań, Pyzdry, Kościan, Gniezno, page 323:

     Byesdrowsco przipadlo na Lesczinø babkø

     [Biezdrowsko przypadło na Leszczynę babkę]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

2. (attested in Lesser PolandCategory:Lesser Poland Old Polish#BABKA) diminutive of baba (“midwife”)Category:Old Polish diminutive nouns#BABKA
   • Beginning of the 15th century, Łukasz z Wielkiego Koźmina, Kazania gnieźnieńskie‎^{transliteration, transcription}, Krakow, page 4a:

     Ioseph podluk obyczaga neuesczego ku ge porodzenu gestcy on byl due bapcze veszual

     [Josef podług obyczaja niewieściego ku je porodzeniu jestci on był dwie babce wezwał]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

3. (attested in Greater PolandCategory:Greater Poland Old Polish#BABKA, in the plural, astronomyCategory:zlw-opl:Constellations#BABKA) diminutive of baba (“Pleiades”)Category:Old Polish diminutive nouns#BABKA
   • 1908 [c. 1500], Bolesław Erzepki, editor, Przyczynki do średniowiecznego słownictwa polskiego. I. Glosy polskie wpisane do łacińsko-niemieckiego słownika drukowanego w roku 1490‎, Lubiń, page 1:

     Pliades sunt stelle pluviales vlg. bapky

     [Pliades sunt stelle pluviales vlg. babki]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   • c. 1500, Wokabularz lubiński, Lubiń: inkunabuł Archiwum Archidiecezjalnego w Gnieźnie, sygn. Inc. 78d., page 102r:

     Pliades sunt stelle pluviales vlg. bapky quoddam signum celeste

     [Pliades sunt stelle pluviales vlg. babki quoddam signum celeste]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

4. plantain; greater plantain (Plantago major)
   • 1900 [1419], Józef Rostafiński, editor, Symbola ad historiam naturalem medii aevi = Średniowieczna historya naturalna w Polsce. Ps 2‎, number 5040:

     Babka arnoglossa, plantago maior

     [Babka arnoglossa, plantago maior]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   • 1450, Piotr z Uścia, Rozariusz kapitulny, Ujście: Archiwum i Biblioteki Krakowskiej Kapituły Katedralnej, sygn. Ms 224, page 188r:

     Plantago […] est quedam herba multum vtilis Et dicitur a planta eo quod adheret terre vlg. babka

     [Plantago […] est quedam herba multum vtilis Et dicitur a planta eo quod adheret terre vlg. babka]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   • XV p. post., Wokabularz petersburski I, Cesarskiej Biblioteki Publicznej w Petersburgu, sygn. Lat.Q.ch.XVI.33, page 8:

     Plantago babka

     [Plantago babka]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   • 1450, Piotr z Uścia, Rozariusz kapitulny, Ujście: Archiwum i Biblioteki Krakowskiej Kapituły Katedralnej, sygn. Ms 224, page 40v:

     Citharia est quedam herba que alio nomine dicitur plantago babka

     [Citharia est quedam herba que alio nomine dicitur plantago babka]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   • XV p. post., Wokabularz petersburski IV, esarskiej Biblioteki Publicznej w Petersburgu, sygn. Lat.F.ch.I.401, page 11:

     Citaria babka

     [Citaria babka]

     Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   1. ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata)
      • 1900 [1437], Józef Rostafiński, editor, Symbola ad historiam naturalem medii aevi = Średniowieczna historya naturalna w Polsce. Ps 2‎, number 2456:

        Babka arnoglossa, plantago minor

        [Babka arnoglossa, plantago minor]

        Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   2. hoary plantainCategory:Entries missing English vernacular names of taxa#hoary%20plantain, Plantago mediaCategory:Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)#Plantago%20media
      • 1900 [1419], Józef Rostafiński, editor, Symbola ad historiam naturalem medii aevi = Średniowieczna historya naturalna w Polsce. Ps 2‎, number 5042:

        Kosmata babka auriculus leporis, plantago media

        [Kosmata babka auriculus leporis, plantago media]

        Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

   3. (attested in Greater PolandCategory:Greater Poland Old Polish#BABKA, Southern BorderlandsCategory:Southern Borderlands Old Polish#BABKA) The meaning of this term is uncertain.Category:Old Polish terms with uncertain meaning#BABKA
      • 1450, rkps Archiwum i Biblioteki Krakowskiej Kapituły Katedralnej o sygn. KP 224., Uście Solne, Lviv:

        Babka citharia, plantago

        [Babka citharia, plantago]

        Category:Old Polish terms with quotations#BABKACategory:Old Polish quotations with omitted translation#BABKA

References

• B. Sieradzka-Baziur, Ewa Deptuchowa, Joanna Duska, Mariusz Frodyma, Beata Hejmo, Dorota Janeczko, Katarzyna Jasińska, Krystyna Kajtoch, Joanna Kozioł, Marian Kucała, Dorota Mika, Gabriela Niemiec, Urszula Poprawska, Elżbieta Supranowicz, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, Piotr Szpor, Bartłomiej Borek, editors (2011–2015), “babka”, in Słownik pojęciowy języka staropolskiego [Conceptual Dictionary of Old Polish] (in Polish), Kraków: IJP PAN, →ISBN
• Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “babka”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk
• Ewa Deptuchowa, Mariusz Frodyma, Katarzyna Jasińska, Magdalena Klapper, Dorota Kołodziej, Mariusz Leńczuk, Ludwika Szelachowska-Winiarzowa, Zofia Wanicowa, editors (2023), “babki”, in Rozariusze z polskimi glosami. Internetowa baza danych [Dictionaries of Polish glosses, an Internet database] (in Polish), Kraków: Pracownia Języka Staropolskiego Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk

Alternative forms

• bábka (Biecz, Lasovia)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Polish babka.Category:Polish terms derived from Old Polish#BABKACategory:Polish entries referencing missing etymons#BABKACategory:Polish terms inherited from Old Polish#BABKACategory:Pages with etymology trees#BABKACategory:Polish entries with etymology trees#BABKACategory:Polish entries with etymology texts#BABKACategory:Pages using etymon with no ID#BABKA By surface analysis, baba +‎ -kaCategory:Polish terms suffixed with -ka#BABKA.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Polish terms with audio pronunciation#BABKA
• Rhymes: -apkaCategory:Rhymes:Polish/apka#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Polish/apka/2 syllables#BABKA
• Syllabification: bab‧ka
• Homophone: BabkaCategory:Polish terms with homophones#BABKA

Noun

babka f (diminutive babeczka)Category:Polish lemmas#BABKACategory:Polish nouns#BABKACategory:Polish entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Polish feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. diminutive of babaCategory:Polish diminutive nouns#BABKA
2. grandmother

   Synonyms: baba, babcia, babunia

3. (colloquialCategory:Polish colloquialisms#BABKA) woman

   Synonyms: babeczka, kobieta

4. (historicalCategory:Polish terms with historical senses#BABKA) medicine woman
5. babka (type of cake)
6. sandcastle
7. plantain (any plant of the genus Plantago)
8. goby (any of various small fish from the large family Gobiidae)
9. (PrzemyślCategory:Przemyśl Polish#BABKA) particular part of a furnace/oven
10. (PrzemyślCategory:Przemyśl Polish#BABKA) woman's companion assistant
11. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA or dialectalCategory:Polish dialectal terms#BABKA, KielceCategory:Kielce Polish#BABKA, LasoviaCategory:Lasovia Polish#BABKA) diminutive of baba (“beggar”)Category:Polish diminutive nouns#BABKA
12. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, agricultureCategory:pl:Agriculture#BABKA) mound of several sheaves of grain placed in a field
13. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA) type of edible mushroom
14. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, miningCategory:pl:Mining#BABKA) stone closing the entrance to the mine
15. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, forging) stone used to close a blast furnace acting as a furnace door
16. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, engineeringCategory:pl:Engineering#BABKA) hammer with the same head on both sides
17. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, forging) anvil for bending padlock shackles
18. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA, forging) small anvil used for tapping a scythe
19. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA) dragonfly

    Synonym: ważka

20. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA) small cannon

    Synonym: armatka

21. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA) type of old, small Polish currency
22. (obsoleteCategory:Polish terms with obsolete senses#BABKA) die used in a particular children's game
23. (Middle PolishCategory:Middle Polish#BABKA or dialectalCategory:Polish dialectal terms#BABKA, BieczCategory:Biecz Polish#BABKA, PrzemyślCategory:Przemyśl Polish#BABKA) midwife

    Synonym: akuszerka

24. (Middle PolishCategory:Middle Polish#BABKA) blind man's buff

Further reading

• “babka”, in Wielki słownik języka polskiego‎ (in Polish), Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
• “babka”, in Polish dictionaries at PWN‎ (in Polish)
• Maria Renata Mayenowa; Stanisław Rospond; Witold Taszycki; Stefan Hrabec; Władysław Kuraszkiewicz (2010-2023), “babka”, in Słownik Polszczyzny XVI Wieku [A Dictionary of 16th Century Polish]
• Paweł Kupiszewski (19.12.2018), “BABKA”, in Elektroniczny Słownik Języka Polskiego XVII i XVIII Wieku [Electronic Dictionary of the Polish Language of the XVII and XVIII Century]
• Samuel Bogumił Linde (1807–1814), “babka”, in Słownik języka polskiego
• Aleksander Zdanowicz (1861), “babka”, in Słownik języka polskiego, Wilno 1861
• J. Karłowicz, A. Kryński, W. Niedźwiedzki, editors (1900), “babka”, in Słownik języka polskiego (in Polish), volume 1, Warsaw, page 78
• babka in Narodowy Fotokorpus Języka Polskiego
• Aleksander Saloni (1899), “babka”, in “Lud wiejski w okolicy Przeworska”, in M. Arct, E. Lubowski, editors, Wisła : miesięcznik gieograficzno-etnograficzny‎ (in Polish), volume 13, Warsaw: Artur Gruszecki, page 236
• Aleksander Saloni (1908), “babka”, in “Lud rzeszowski”, in Materyały Antropologiczno-Archeologiczne i Etnograficzne‎ (in Polish), volume 10, Kraków: Akademia Umiejętności, page 332
• Jan Łoś (1886), “babka”, in “Gwara opoczyńska. Studium dialektologiczne”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (1), volume 11, page 182
• Roman Zawiliński (1880), “babka”, in “Gwara brzezińska w pow. ropczyckim”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (I)‎ (in Polish), volume 8, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 226
• Szymon Matusiak (1880), “babka”, in “Gwara lasowska w okolicy Tarnobrzega, studyjum dyjalektologiczne”, in Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzeń Wydziału Filologicznego Akademii Umiejętności (I) (in Polish), volume 8, Krakow: Akademia Umiejętności, page 170

Etymology

Inherited from Old PolishCategory:Silesian terms inherited from Old Polish#BABKACategory:Silesian terms derived from Old Polish#BABKA ka. By surface analysis, baba +‎ -kaCategory:Silesian terms suffixed with -ka#BABKA.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbap.ka/Category:Silesian terms with IPA pronunciation#BABKA

• Audio:

  (file)

  Category:Silesian terms with audio pronunciation#BABKA
• Rhymes: -apkaCategory:Rhymes:Silesian/apka#BABKACategory:Rhymes:Silesian/apka/2 syllables#BABKA
• Syllabification: bab‧ka

Noun

babka fCategory:Silesian lemmas#BABKACategory:Silesian nouns#BABKACategory:Silesian entries with incorrect language header#BABKACategory:Silesian feminine nouns#BABKACategory:Pages with entries#BABKACategory:Pages with 9 entries#BABKA

1. diminutive of babaCategory:Silesian diminutive nouns#BABKA
2. common woodlouseCategory:Entries missing English vernacular names of taxa#common%20woodlouse, Porcellio scaberCategory:Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)#Porcellio%20scaber
3. (forging) small anvil for striking a scythe or a sickle

   Synonym: baba

4. village midwife

   Synonym: babica

5. babka (type of cake)
6. common pearCategory:Entries missing English vernacular names of taxa#common%20pear, (Pyrus communis)

   Synonym: baba

7. (agricultureCategory:szl:Agriculture#BABKA) last sheaf gathered during a harvest
8. blind man's buff

Further reading

• babka in silling.org
• Bogdan Kallus (2020), “babka”, in Słownik Gōrnoślōnskij Gŏdki, IV edition, Chorzów: Pro Loquela Silesiana, →ISBN, page 234
• Henryk Jaroszewicz (2022), “babka”, in Zasady pisowni języka śląskiego (in Polish), Siedlce: Wydawnictwo Naukowe IKR[i]BL, page 62
• Aleksandra Wencel (2023), “babka”, in Dykcjůnôrz ślų̊sko-polski, page 32