Etymology

Either deverbal from shqipoj ‎(“to speak clearly”), from Latin excipiō ‎(“I take out; I except; I understand”), or else from shqipe, shkype, dialectal forms of shkabë ‎(“eagle”), according to a tribal totemic belief linked to the Albanian medieval flag. Replaced the now dialectal (Arbërësh, Arvantika) arbër ~ arbën.

Peter Skok suggested that this word is originated from Scupi (Shkupi), the capital of the Roman province of Dardania (today's Skopje).^[2] According to Peter Skok Albanian demonym Shkuptar (as in inhabitant of Skopje) changed to Shkiptar, which is still used among Arvanitis Albanians in Greece, and later to Shqiptar ^[3].

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃcip/