Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

Plectrum

Definition: Plectrum

Plectrum

Noun

1. A small thin device (of metal or plastic or ivory) used to pluck a stringed instrument.

Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
 

Date "plectrum" was first used: 1626. (references)


Specialty Definitions: Plectrum

DomainDefinitions

Fine Arts

The small piece of wood, metal, ivory or other material, used to activate the strings of the mandoline, zither, etc. Source: European Union. (references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Specialty Definition: Plectrum

(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)

A plectrum (plural: plectra) is a device for plucking or strumming a stringed instrument. In guitars, banjos, and similar instruments, the plectrum is a separate tool held in the player's hand. In harpsichords, the plectra form part of the mechanism of the instrument.

Plectra for guitars, etc.

A plectrum for guitars, etc., typically takes the form of a narrow isosceles triangle with rounded corners; the acutest angle is the one commonly used to pluck the string. Such a plectrum can also be called a pick (or a flatpick to distinguish it from finger picks). They are made of a variety of materials, plastic being the most common. The size, shape and thickness may vary considerably. Items such as small coins may successfully be used as a substitute plectrum if the need arises.

Banjo and guitar players may wear a thumb pick mounted on a ring, and sometimes finger picks on their fingertips.

Plectra for harpsichords

In a harpsichord, the plectra (one for each string) are very small, often only about a centimeter long, about 1.5 millimeters wide, and perhaps half a millimeter thick. The plectrum is gently tapered, being narrowest at the plucking end. The top surface of the plectrum is flat and horizontal, and is held in the tongue of the jack, which permits it to pluck moving upward and pass almostly silently past the string moving downward.

Historically, plectra were made of sturdy quills (that is, large feathers). Crow quills were considered best, followed by raven quills. In some Italian harpsichords, leather plectra were used. In late French harpsichords by the great builder Pascal Taskin, peau de buffle, a chamois-like material from the hide of the European buffalo, was used for plectra that produced a delicate pianissimo. Of these materials, quill was by far the most common.

Modern harpsichords often substitute a more durable plastic, such as delrin, for quill; thus modern harpsichordists need not spend much of their time, as J. S. Bach did, requilling their instruments.

Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Plectrum."

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Synonyms: Plectrum

Synonyms: pick (n), plectron (n). (additional references)

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Crosswords: Plectrum

English words defined with "plectrum": cither, Citternguitar pickmandolinPlectra, pluckedzither, zithern. (references)
Non-English Usage: "Plectrum" is also a word in the following language with the English translation in parentheses.

Latin (lute).

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Commercial Usage: Plectrum

DomainTitle

Books

  • The Ultimate Plectrum Banjo Player's Guide, Compact Disc Companion to Vol.1 & Vol.2 (Set of 2) (reference)

    (more book examples)

  

Theater & Movies

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Usage Frequency: Plectrum

"Plectrum" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 100.00% of the time. "Plectrum" is used about 21 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted)
Parts of SpeechPercentUsage per
100 Million Words
Rank in English
Noun (singular)100%2176,261

Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.

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Frequency of Internet Keywords: Plectrum

The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com.
 
ExpressionFrequency
per Day

plectrum

34

plectrum banjo

11

bacon banjo day plectrum

2

holder plectrum

2

plectrum white

2
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

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Modern Translations: Plectrum

Language Translations for "plectrum"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses.

Arabic 

  

‏ريشة العازف (pick, plectron, quill). (various references)

   

Bulgarian 

  

плектър (pick, quill). (various references)

   

Chinese 

  

'子 . (various references)

   

Danish

  

plektron, plekter. (various references)

   

Dutch

  

plectrum. (various references)

   

French

  

plectre (plectron). (various references)

   

German

  

Plektron (pick). (various references)

   

Greek 

  

πλήκτρο (key). (various references)

   

Hungarian

  

plektron, lantverõ pálcika. (various references)

   

Italian

  

plettro. (various references)

   

Japanese Kanji 

  

' (pick). (various references)

   

Japanese Katakana 

  

ばち (curse, pick, punishment, retribution). (various references)

   

Manx

  

figgeen. (various references)

   

Pig Latin

  

ectrumplay

   

Portuguese

  

plebe (commonalty, hoick, mob, people, rabble), palheta (blade, palet, pallet, vibrator). (various references)

   

Russian 

  

плектр (plectra). (various references)

   

Serbo-Croatian

  

vrsta trzalice. (various references)

   

Spanish

  

púa (barb, jag, prickle, quill, scion, spike, spine, tine, tooth). (various references)

   

Turkish

  

pena, mızrap (quill). (various references)

   

Ukranian 

  

медіатор (mediator, plectron), плектр (plectron). (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various translation references.

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Ancestral Language Translations: Plectrum

LanguagePeriodTranslations
Greek700 BCE-300 CE

plektron. (various references)

Source: compiled by the editor from various references.

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Derivations & Misspellings: Plectrum

Derivations

Words beginning with "plectrum": plectrums. (additional references)


Misspellings

"Plectrum" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: psectrum, pulchrum. (additional references)

Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references).

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Rhyming with "Plectrum"

Words rhyming with "plectrum" (pronounced 'Plec"trum'): Alabastrum, Antrum, Calamistrum, Centrum, Claustrum, Colostrum, lustrum, Nostrum, Pleurocentrum, rostrum, Sequestrum, Sistrum, spectrum, tantrum, Zygantrum. (additional references)

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Anagrams: Plectrum

Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams

Words within the letters "c-e-l-m-p-r-t-u"

-1 letter: crumpet, crumple.

-2 letters: cutler, lumper, precut, rectum, reluct, rumple.

-3 letters: clept, clump, crept, cruel, cruet, crump, culet, cupel, curet, cuter, eruct, erupt, lemur, letup, lucre, mulct, muter, plume, puler, recut, truce, trump, ulcer.

-4 letters: celt, clue, culm, cult, cure, curl, curt, cute, ecru, lept, luce, lump, lure, lute, melt, merl, mule, mure, mute, pelt.

 Words containing the letters "c-e-l-m-p-r-t-u"
 

+1 letter: plectrums.

 

+2 letters: crumpliest.

 

+4 letters: computerless, computerlike, multipicture, thermocouple.

 

+5 letters: circumspectly, multiparticle, multispectral, thermocouples, unproblematic.

Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits.

SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro.

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Alternative Orthography: Plectrum


Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)

50 6C 65 63 74 72 75 6D

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)

American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)

=

Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)

Braille (1829, in France) (references)

Morse Code (1836) (references)

.--.    .-..    .    -.-.    -    .-.    ..-    --

Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)

Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)

01010000 01101100 01100101 01100011 01110100 01110010 01110101 01101101

HTML Code (1990) (references)

&#80 &#108 &#101 &#99 &#116 &#114 &#117 &#109

ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)

0050 006C 0065 0063 0074 0072 0075 006D

British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)

Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)

5078716986848779

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INDEX

1. Definition
2. Synonyms
3. Crosswords
4. Usage: Commercial
5. Usage Frequency
6. Expressions: Internet
7. Translations: Modern
8. Translations: Ancient
9. Derivations
10. Rhymes
11. Anagrams
12. Orthography
13. Bibliography


  

Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.

 

 

 

 

Note to the press & webmasters - this dictionary can be linked, indexed, or referred to using the following non-English expressions:
woordeboek, fjalor, ‏معجم, ‏قاموس, diccionariu, речник, diccionari, diksyonario, diksinario, 字典, gérlyver, slovník, ordbog, woordenboek, shimiyuc p'anca, orðabók, orðbók, dictionnaire, wurdboek, wörterbuch, λεξικό, אוצר מילים, szótár, uqausiit tukingit, dizionario, 字引 , じい, じびき, じて", ディクショナリー , じり", じしょ, '"かい, ディクショナリ , 사 , dizionari, recnik, fockleyr, dikshonario, słownik, dicionário, dicţionar, dicziunari, словарь, lolomi fefiloi, foclair, abardair, faclair, briathrachan, pukuntau, leksikon, rečnik, vocabbulariu, diccionario, sí-chazamagâma, ordbok, lexikon, พจนานุกรม, sözlük, ansiklopedik sözlük, словник, довідник, có tính chất sách vở, geirlyfr, geiriadur, for dictionary;
definisie, qartësi, përcaktim, saktësi, ‏الوضوحية في الشيء, ‏حد, ‏تحديد, ‏تعريف, ‏التحديد, ‏الإيضاحية, яснота, сила, очертания, дефиниция, 定義 , 定义, definice, deskriptordefinition, definitie, määritelmä, définition, ορισμός, "'"ר", "'בל", meghatározás, definíció, definizione, 確定 , ディーゼル電気車 , デ'ドロ酢酸 , デフィニション , ディフィニション , ていぎ, かくてい, 의, geyrid, meenaghey, keeayllaght, baght, definishon, definição, definiţie, determinare, definire, определение, definicija, definición, definition, açıklama, belirleme, belirtme, kesinleştirme, tanım, tarif, seçiklik, tanımlama, чіткість, тлумачення, виразність, визначення, дефініція, ясність, чітка чутність, sự định rõ, sự định nghĩa, lời định nghĩa sự định, diffiniad, darnodiad, for definition;
vertaling, transferim, transmetim, ‏ترجمة من لغة أجنبية للغة الأم, ‏ترجمة, ‏إفتتان, транслация, огъване, превод, предаване, поддаване, тълкуване, превеждане, 翻译, překlad, oversættelse, translatie, taajuusmuutos, translaatio, traduction, oersetting, Übersetzung, μετάφραση, תור'מ ות, תר'ום, "עתק", "עתק, fordítás, traduzione, 翻訳 , へい"ういどう, やくしょ, やくしゅつ, "うどく, ほ"やく, トランスレーション , やくじゅつ, ほ"やくしょ, 번역, tradukshon, tradução, translaţie, tãlmãcire, traducere, сдвиг, трансляция, перемещение, перевод, tumačenje, traducción, översättning, tercüme, процес перекладу, переклад, пояснення, переміщення, sự dịch, sự biến th nh sự giải thích, trosiad, for translation;
Arabies, arabishte, ‏العربية, ‏عربي, ‏اللغة العربية, арабски език, арабски, 阿拉伯 , arabský, arabština, arábiskt, arabialainen, arabe, Arabysk, arabisch, αραβικόσ, ערבית, ערבי, arab, arabo, 아라비아, Arabish, arabir, arabic, арабский, Arapi, arapski, árabe, arabisk, าษาหรืออักขระอาหรับ, เกี่ยวกับอาระเบีย, arapça, arap, araplara özgü, арабська мова, арабський, tiếng A-rập, thuộc A-rập, for Arabic;
Bulgaars, Bulgaar, bulgr, ‏البلغارية, ‏بلغاري, Búlgaru, български, български език, българин, Bulgaryan, 保 利亚, bulharský, bulgarer, bulgarskt, bulgarialainen, Bulgaarsk, bulgare, 'ούλγαρος, bullgar, bolgár, bulgaro, 불가리아, Bulgeyragh, Bulgeyrish, Bułgar, болгарский, болгарин, bugarski jezik, bugarski, bugarka, bugarin, búlgaro, bulgar, bulgaristan ile ilgili, болгарський, người Bun-ga-ri tiếng Bun-ga-ri, for Bulgarian;
Sjinees, Chinees, kinez, ‏الصينية, ‏لغة الصين, ‏صيني, ‏الصيني أحد أبناء الصين, Chinu, китайски, Ininsik, 汉语, 中 , 漢 , 中國 , èínský, èínština, èíòan, kineser, kinesiskt, kinverskur, kiinalainen, Chinois, Sineesk, Chinesisch, Κινέζος, κινέζικα, κινέζικοσ, κινέζοσ, σινικόσ, kínai, Kínverji, Sínis, cinese, チフス菌 , チャイニーズ , 중국, Cina, Sheenish, Sheenagh, Hainamana, chines, Chińczyk, chinês, chinés, chinezesc, chinezeşte, chinezã, chinez, китайский, китаец, Saina, kineski jezik, kineski, chino, snesi, sneysi, kinesisk, çinli, çince, çin ile ilgili, çin, китаянка, китайська мова, китайський, кита"ць, for Chinese;
Deens, danisht, danishte, ‏لغة الدانمركية, ‏نوع كعك, ‏دانماركي, датски език, датски, Daniko, 丹麦语, dánský, dánština, danskur, danskt, tanskalainen, danois, Deensk, dänisch, δανικόσ, δανόσ, עו'ת שמרים, " י, dán, danska, Danmhairgis, danese, 덴마크, Danvargish, Danvargagh, danes, dinamarquês, danez, датский, danski, danski jezik, danés, dansk, danimarkalı, danimarka dili, датський, датська мова, tiếng Đan-mạch, for Danish;
Nederlands, Hollands, holandez, ‏هولندي, ‏اللغة الهولندية, холандски, немски език, холандски език, холандците, немски, Olandes, 菏蘭語 , 荷兰语, holandský, nizozemský, hollandsk, hollendskt, hollantilainen, néerlandais, Nederlânsk, holländisch, ολλανδικόσ, ολλανδόσ, holandisht, "ול "י, holland, hollenskur, Ollainnis, olandese, 네덜란", Belanda, Ollanish, Germaanish, Tatimana, nederlandsk, ulandes, hulandes, holandês, neerlandés, olandez, nemţesc, limba olandezã, german, голландский, holanđanin, u škripcu, holandski, holandés, bakratongo, holländsk, ชาวเนเธอร์แลน"์, เกี่ยวกับเนเธอร์แลน"์, รรยา, alman, eş, flemenkçe, holandaca, hollanda, karı, hollandalı, hollandalılara özgü olan, Hollandali, hollanda'ya ait, голландська мова, голландський, ngôn ngữ khó hiểu, "b xã", for Dutch;
Franse taal, Frans, franceze, francez, frëngjisht, frëng, frëngjishte, ‏فرنسي, ‏اللغة الفرنسية, ‏الشعب الفرنسي, gall, френски език, френски, Pranses, 法國 , 法文 , 法語 , 法语, francouzština, francouzský, franskur, franskt, ranskalainen, français, Frânsk, französisch, γάλλοσ, γαλλικόσ, γαλλική γλώσσα, γαλλίδα, צרפתי, צרפתית, francia, Fraincis, francese, フレコン化 , フランス" , 仏文 , 仏 , ふつぶ", フレンチ , フランセ , ふつ, "랑스, Perancis, Ny Frangee, Mooinjey ny Frank, frances, franses, francês, francezii, francezã, franţuzesc, franţuzeşte, французский, Falani, francuski jezik, francuski, francuzi, francés, sí-Fulentji, fransk, franska, fransızca, Fransiz, fransızca ile ilgili, fransız, fransa ile ilgili, французька мова, французький, Ffrengig, isiFulentshi, for French;
Duits, Duitser, Duitse taal, Germaan, gjerman, ‏ضرب من الرقص, ‏جرماني, ‏المانية, ‏الماني, ‏اللغة الألمانية, роден, германски, немски език, немски, немец, готически, германец, 德語 , 德语, 德文 , 德國 , nìmecký, nìmec, tysker, Duitse, týskur, týskt, týskari, saksalainen, Allemand, Dútsk, Deutsche, Deutsch, "ερμανός, gjermanisht, 'רמ י, 'רמ ית, német, þjóðverji, þýskur, GearmÚnach, GearmÚinis, tedesco, ジプシー音楽 , ジャーマン , 독일, todesch, Germaanagh, Garmane, Germaanish, Carmane, aleman, Niemiec, niemiecki, alemão, alemand, neamţ, немецкий, Siamani, germanski, alemán, Tudesku, Doysri, mjeremani, mdachi, sí-Jalimáne, tysk, เยอรมัน, าษาเยอรมัน, Alman, німкеня, німецький, німець, $sisters german$ chị em ruột, $cousin german$ anh chị em con chú bác ruột, sister, Almaenwr, isiJalimane, iliJalimane, iJalimane, for German;
Grieks, Griek, ‏الإغريقي, ‏يوناني, ‏اللغة اليونانية, Griegu, гръцки език, гръцки, грък, Griyego, 希臘語 , 希腊语, řecký, řeètina, řek, græker, grikst, kreikkalainen, grec, Gryk, Gryksk, Gryks, grieche, ελληνικόσ, 'Ελληνας, יו ית, יו י, görög, Grikki, greco, ギリシア語 , ギリシア", 그리스, Greagish, Greagagh, grego, grèc, greacã, греческий, Eleni, grk, grčki jezik, grčki, griego, grek, Yunanli, yunanlı, yunanca, yunan, Rumca, yunanistan'a ait, rum, грек, гречанка, грецька мова, грецький, kẻ cắp b gi gặp nhau, quân bạc bịp tôi không thể hiểu được điều đó thật l kỳ phùng địch thủ, người Hy-lạp tiếng Hy-lạp kẻ bịp bợm, kẻ lừa đảo, Groegwr, for Greek;
Hongaars, Hongaar, hungarez, ‏الهنغاري, ‏مجري, ‏هنغاري, ‏المجري, ‏اللغة الهنغارية, Húngaru, унгарски език, унгарски, унгарец, Hungaryan, 匈牙利語 , 匈牙利语, maïarský, maïar, maïarština, ungarer, Hongaarse, ungarskt, unkarilainen, hongrois, Hongaarsk, ungar, Ούγγρος, "ו 'רי, magyar, ungherese, 헝가리, Ungaarish, Ungaaragh, Węgier, ongrés, ungureşte, ungur, limba maghiarã, unguresc, maghiar, limba ungarã, венгр, венгерский, mađarski, mađar, mađarski jezik, húngaro, ungrare, ชาวฮังการี, macarca, macar, угорська мова, угорка, угорський, угорець, người Hung-ga-ri tiếng Hung-ga-ri, for Hungarian;
Italianer, Italiaans, Italiaan, ‏شخص إيطالي, ‏اللغة الإيطالية, ‏الإيطالي, ‏إيطالي, Italianu, италиански език, италиански, италианец, Italyano, 意大利 , 意大利語 , 意大利语, italština, italský, ital, italiener, italienskt, italialainen, Italien, Italjaansk, italienisch, Ιταλός, italisht, איטלקי, איטלקית, olasz, Ítali, IodÚilis, italiano, 이탈리아, Iddaalish, Włoch, italianã, italienesc, italieneşte, italian, итальянский язык, итальянский, итальянец, Italia, italijanski, italijanski jezik, italijan, sí-Taliyáne, italienare, italiensk, italienska, เกี่ยวกับอิตาลี, ชาวอิตาลี, าษาอิตาลี, italyanca, italyan, італі"ць, італійська мова, італійський, італійка, for Italian;
gjuha e popullsisë së ishullit men, manský, manština, manx, mann-szigeti nyelv, Gaelgagh, Yn Ghaelg, Manninish, Manninagh, язык жителей о-ва мэн, с о-ва мэн, s ostrva mana, los habitantes de la isla de man, lengua de la isla de man, de la isla de man, från ön man, man dili, man adası, менський діалект, менський, for manx;
Portugees, portugez, portugalisht, ‏اللغة البرتغالية, ‏البرتغالية, ‏البرتغالي, португалски език, португалски, португалец, Potuges, 葡萄牙语, 葡萄牙人 , 葡萄牙語 , portugalský, portugiser, portugisiskt, portugalilainen, portugais, Portugeesk, portugiesisch, πορτογάλοσ, ορτογάλος, portugál, Portaingéilis, portoghese, ポルトガル語 , ポルトガル", 포르투갈, Portiugish, Portiugagh, portugues, Portugalczyk, português, portughez, португальский, portugalski jezik, portugalski, portugalac, portugués, Mreno, si-Putúkezi, portugis, portekiz, Portekízlí, portekizli, portekizce, португальська мова, португальський, португалець, người B"-đ o-nha tiếng B"-đ o-nha, for Portuguese;
Russies, Rus, ‏الروسية, ‏روسي, ‏اللغة الروسية, Rusu, руски, руски език, руснак, Rusyan, 俄語 , 俄语, 俄文 , ruština, ruský, russer, russur, russiskt, venäläinen, Russysk, Russe, russisch, Ρώσος, רוסי, orosz, rússneskur, Rússi, Rúisis, russo, ロシア語 , ロシア", 러시아, Rooshish, Rooshagh, russisk, Rosjanin, русский, Lusia, ruski jezik, ruski, ruso, sí-Rashîya, ryss, ชาวรัสเซีย, rusça, росіянка, росіянин, російська мова, російський, người Nga tiếng Nga, for Russian;
塞爾維亞克羅地亞語 , 塞"维亚-克罗地亚语, serbokroatisch, 세르보크로아티아, servo-croata, sârbo-croat, srpsko-hrvatski, srpsko-hrvatski jezik, serbokroatiska, serbokroatisk, เกี่ยวกับ าษาเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย, าษาหลักของชาวเซอร์เบียและโครเอเชีย, for Serbo-Croatian;
Spaans, Spaanse taal, spanjoll, ‏اللغة الأسبانية, ‏الأسبانية, ‏أسباني, испански език, испански, espanyoles, Espanyol, 西班牙语, 西班牙文 , 西班牙語 , španìlský, španìlština, spanskt, espanjalainen, espagnol, Spaansk, spanisch, ισπανικά, ισπανικόσ, ισπανοί, karaiñe'êmegua, ספר"ית, ספר"י, spanyol, SpÚinnis, spagnolo, スペイン語 , スパイ罪 , スペイン", スパニッシュ , 스페인, Spaainagh, Spaainish, spañó, espanhol, espanhòl, spaniolesc, spanioleşte, spaniol, испанский, Sipaniolo, španski jezik, španski, español, spanska språk, spansk, ispanyollar, ispanyolca, ispanyol, іспанська мова, іспанський, for Spanish;
Turks, turk, ‏تركي أحد أبناء تركيا, ‏اللغة التركية, Turcu, турски, турски език, Turko, 土耳其, 土耳其語 , tureètina, turecký, turkist, turkkilainen, turque, turc, Turksk, türkisch, τούρκικοσ, טורקי, török, Yn Turkish, Turkagh, turcesc, турецкий, turski jezik, turski, turco, turkisk, türk, türkçe, турецька мова, турецький, tiếng Thổ nhĩ kỳ, for Turkish;
乌克兰, for Ukranian;