Jačmik/en

Dictionary of Words
jačmik
noun
Stye (hordeolum) on the eyelid, after approximately five days
Public domain — Andre Riemann / Wikimedia Commons
Croatian	stye, purulent inflammation of the eyelid
Pronunciation	jȁčmīk
Explanation	Jačmik is the Dalmatian term for stye, a purulent inflammatory condition of the eyelid. The form jačmik is attested in the speech of Kaštela and Trogir, while in the speech of Split the forms jačmen and jačmin are attested with the same meaning.
Definition	A purulent inflammatory swelling of the eyelid; stye (Lat. hordeolum).
Note	Radojka Baldić records jačmik in the speech of Kaštela with the meaning “a purulent swelling of the eyelid”. Duško Geić defines the word in the speech of Trogir as a stye, that is, an inflammation of the eyelid in the form of a purulent swelling.
Meanings	stye purulent inflammatory swelling of the eyelid
Notes	The form jačmik is attested in the speech of Kaštela. The form jačmik is also attested in the Cakavian speech of Trogir. In the speech of Split, the form jačmen / jačmin is attested for a purulent inflammation of the eyelid. The standard Croatian term is ječmenac, while the medical term is hordeolum.
Notes	In Dalmatian speech, there are various local forms for stye. In Kaštela and Trogir, the form jačmik is attested, while the Split dictionary records jačmen / jačmin with the meaning “purulent inflammation of the eyelid”. In the speech of Trogir, a folk belief associated with jačmik has also been recorded: it is said to affect a person who refuses a pregnant woman food that she craves.
Synonyms	stye, ječmić, jačmen, jačmin
Etymology	Jačmik, the Split forms jačmen / jačmin, and the standard Croatian terms ječmenac and ječmić belong to a family of words related to the name of the cereal ječam (barley).
Related words	barley, eye, eyelid, eyelid
Phrases	stye on the eye; stye on the eyelid
Entry author	OVDJE TVOJ POTPIS
Sources	Radojka Baldić-Dugum, Beside kaštelanske, Kaštela: Bijaći – Društvo za očuvanje kulturne baštine Kaštela; Muzej grada Kaštela, 2006., ISBN 953-99599-1-8. Duško Geić, Rječnik i gramatika trogirskoga cakavskoga govora, Split: Književni krug; Trogir: Združeni artisti Trogir, 2015., Biblioteka Čakavska rič, knj. 9, ISBN 978-953-163-411-3. Dunja Jutronić, Spliske riči: rječnik hrvatski standardni jezik – splitski govor, Split: Marica hrvatska, Ogranak Split, 2018., ISBN 978-953-7797-42-3. Hrvatska enciklopedija, mrežno izdanje, Leksikografski zavod Miroslav Krleža: „Ječmenac”. Hrvatski jezični portal: „Ječmić”. Wikimedia Commons: Stye02.jpg, Andre Riemann, Public domain.

Jačmik is a Dalmatian word for stye, a purulent inflammatory condition of the eyelid. The term is attested in the speech of Kaštela and Trogir. In medical terminology, a stye is called a hordeolum.

Meaning

Radojka Baldić-Dugum records the following in Beside kaštelanske:

jačmik, -a, m. – a purulent swelling of the eyelid

Duško Geić, in Rječnik i gramatika trogirskoga cakavskoga govora, provides a more detailed definition:

jačmik, -a, m. – stye, an inflammation of the eyelid in the form of a purulent swelling

Both dictionary attestations therefore show the same basic meaning of the word: jačmik is a stye on the eyelid.

Stye

In standard Croatian, the usual term is ječmenac (Lat. hordeolum). It is an acute purulent inflammation of the eyelid glands. It manifests as a painful reddish or yellowish-red inflammatory lesion accompanied by swelling of the eyelid.

The Dalmatian jačmik thus represents a local lexical form for the same condition.

Folk belief

Alongside the word jačmik, Duško Geić also records an old folk belief according to which a person develops a stye if they refuse a pregnant woman food that she craves.

Such an interpretation belongs to traditional beliefs and folklore and should be distinguished from the medical explanation of how a stye develops.

Etymology

Jačmik belongs to a family of words related to the name of the cereal ječam (barley). The standard Croatian terms ječmenac and ječmić are derived from the same root.

The Croatian Language Portal notes that ječmić, which refers to ječmenac, is etymologically derived from the word ječam (barley).

Attestations in Dalmatian speech

Terms for stye are attested in several varieties spoken in central Dalmatia:

• Kaštela — jačmik, “a purulent swelling of the eyelid” — Radojka Baldić-Dugum, Beside kaštelanske (2006).
• Trogir — jačmik, “stye, an inflammation of the eyelid in the form of a purulent swelling” — Duško Geić, Rječnik i gramatika trogirskoga cakavskoga govora (2015).
• Split — jačmen / jačmin, “purulent inflammation of the eyelid” — Dunja Jutronić, Spliske riči: rječnik hrvatski standardni jezik – splitski govor (2018).

These attestations demonstrate local lexical variation: the Kaštela and Trogir varieties use the form jačmik, while the Split variety uses jačmen / jačmin; in standard Croatian, the usual term is ječmenac.

See also

• Stye
• Ječmić
• Barley
• Eye
• Kaštela dialect
• Trogir dialect