Skopje, 29 December 2025 (MIA) - The first volume of the inaugural "Macedonian Etymological Dictionary" by professor Goce Cvetanovski from the Institute of Macedonian Language "Krste Misirkov"-Skopje was promoted on Monday.

Institute director Elena Jovanova-Grujovska told the promotion that the 650-page dictionary is a first for the Macedonian language and the Macedonian people.

"It is part of a larger project that is now fully funded by the Ministry of Education and Science," said Jovanova-Grujovska.

Author Cvetanovski thanked the Ministry of Education and Science for its support and the dictionary's publication.

"At the beginning, we wanted to produce a pocket dictionary but our work exceeded expectations and this is now a capital work in five volumes. Besides the lexicon, it includes the dialects, archaic words, internationalisms, Turkish words and a portion called relics of the Balkan linguistic substrate," said Cvetanovski.

According to him, the Macedonian language will no longer be listed as a tongue without an etymological dictionary.

"The etymological dictionary is the summit of knowledge. It depicts the history of a language and a nation, it reflects the cultural definition of a nation," added Cvetanovski.

The Institute of Macedonian Language has said that the Macedonian Etymological Dictionary is of particular importance for the Macedonian language because it represents scientifically based testimony to the historical development of the Macedonian language, offers a scientifically argued analysis of the origin of Macedonian words, placed in a broader Slavic and Indo-European context.

The dictionary is a contribution to strengthening scientific and cultural self-awareness and is a worthy promoter for the international affirmation of the Macedonian language as an independent Slavic language with its own historical and etymological tradition. Thus, the Dictionary is embedded in the foundations of the Macedonian cultural and scientific heritage and is a work of enduring value, said the Institute.

Photo: MIA