Bulgarian Terms for Thunder, Thunderbolt and Lightning. On the Etymology of the Dialectal Verb млъскам

The article provides a brief overview of the semantics and etymology of the nouns гръм, гръмотѐвица, светкàвица, мълния, which refer to the same natural phenome-non (thunder, thunderbolt). The etymology of the word мълния is examined in greater detail, with particular focus on the mythological motivations behind its origin. Based on the analysis, a new hypothesis is proposed regarding the origin of the dialectal verb млъскам (‘to hitʼ) and its derivatives.