Nadimak "Rkać" (Rkač)
The Nickname Rkać (Rkač)

Summary/Abstract: The names Rkać, Rkač, Arkač, Arka are known in Dalmatia (except the southest part) from 17th century on, as ethnic nicknames for Serbian inhabitants. The author gives account of older materials and of some more recent data of known origin. These data extend the topic by showing that there are regions where the name Rkać (Rkač) is not considered insulting (the Cetina River region), as well as that there are regions where it is not in use any more (some areas surrounding Zadar). Beside the ethnic nickname, there exits words rkać, rkać (proved recently and broader than the name Rkać, Rkač) that denote a short-tempered person or a libertine. There exist also personal nicknames, as well as the surname Rkać (Rkač), originating from West Herzegovina. The author also gives account of the surname Hrajkaš, connected with the words hrnjkaš, rnjkaš, (h)rnjkoyit, rankač, rkać, rkovit, all denoting a semi-castrated male domestic animal. These words originate from Roumanian. It is supposed that they could be a basis for the ethnic nickname as well. The recent data extend the investigation to the region between the rivers Kupa, Sava and Una, where the forms Rkan and Rkač are used as names, but also as words denoting some traits of human temperament. A more precise account of the complex meaning of those etnonims would require more data.

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