Where does “budalaș” come from?

budalaș (Romanian) comes from Romanian Budală, from Ottoman Turkish budala, from Arabic بُدَلَاء, from Arabic بَدَل, from Arabic بَدَلَ — to replace; to change.

Ancestry of “budalaș”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1RomanianBudalăfool
2Ottoman Turkishbudala—
3Arabicبُدَلَاء—
4Arabicبَدَلsubstitution, equivalent; a substitute; a good,...
5Arabicبَدَلَto replace; to change
Every word from Arabic بَدَلَ →Every word from Arabic بَدَل →Every word from Arabic بُدَلَاء →