More, re, and bre
More, re, and bre are interjections and/or vocative particles common to Albanian, Greek, Romanian, South Slavic, Turkish, Venetian and Ukrainian. According to Eric Hamp, its "locus... more in the Greek world than elsewhere". It is used in colloquial speech to gain someone's attention, add emphasis, insult, or express surprise or astonishment, similar to the Argentine vocable of unknown origin, "Che."
Etymology
- Albanian:
- * more, morë, ore, mar, mre, moj, mana, mori are Albanian vocative particles. Vladimir Orel and Bardhyl Demiraj connect the Albanian vocative particles with the aorist form of marr. Which derived from Proto-Albanian *mar-, from Proto-Indo-European *merh₂- or PIE *mer-. Cognate with Ancient Greek μείρομαι/meíromai, Latin mereō, merx and Hittite mark.
- * Bij, bi, bre, be are short forms of bijë/bilë and bir. Phonetically and semantically close to Messapic *bilia and *biles. Bre derived from the PIE root *bʰréh₂ or *bʰrḗh₂. It is suspected that the root could have wider meanings in PIE and used to refer to non-relatives.
- Greek:
- * from the vocative moré of the Greek adjective morós "foolish, stupid"; related to Latin mōrus "foolish, silly"; derived from the Indo-European root mûra, maura "dull, stupid".
Variants
- , oj', mori, more, mana, vore, bij, bi / morë, mor, mar, ore, o, mre / bre, be
- , бре, бе, де
- , βρε, ρε, μωρή , ωρέ, μπρε, βωρέ
- , măre
- Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian: бре / bre, море / more, мори / mori
- , бре
- , bre
Greek
Its original pejorative meaning of 'fool, idiot' is largely lost and it is now used to mean "friend", and thus corresponds in some ways to expressions such as "mate", "pal", "man", "dude". As in the above English examples, re may be used both before or after a phrase: "Ρε, αυτή είναι καλή μπύρα", or, "Πάμε για καμια μπύρα, ρε". However, it is familiar, so it is not used to older people or to strangers, when it can be considered offensive.
The feminine version, mori, preserves the original pejorative sense regardless of context when used by males, but it is used in familiar context when used among women or in gay slang. In Cyprus, it is common to address either a sister, female cousin, or female friend as "ra", as opposed to re.
When used with loud voice, or with commands, it sounds rude or offensive "Stand up, re" → "You, stand up now!" However, if followed by sy or the addressee's name it is considered milder, and friendly. Of course the above is not always standard since everything depends on the context and the intonation.
It is very common for Greeks raised in Greece but living abroad to use re semi-jokingly when speaking English in the same way they use it when they speak Greek Similarly, Greek rappers will use it along with the interjection man! as in "Re man".
In the Greek American community of Tarpon Springs, Florida, a variation of the word is used with the same meaning. Instead of the term re, with the rolling of the "r" being said, the Greeks there say "ray", with no rolling of the "r". "Ray" is thus said as in typical English. "Ray, lets go to the Sponge Docks," or "What's up, Ray?" is how the term is used locally. This is common only in Tarpon Springs, and the usage of the term is often mocked by Greek Americans throughout the country.