kielbasa

Etymology

Borrowed from Polish kiełbasa, meaning “sausage”, which traces back to Proto-Slavic *kъlbasa. This may in turn derive from a Proto-Turkic word for “grilled cutlet”, literally “pressed on ashes”, formed from *kül (“ash”) and *bas (“to press”) (compare modern Turkish basmak). See also the Ukrainian cognate ковбаса́ (kovbasá, “sausage”), from which kubasa comes.