bulgar

UK/ˈbʌlɡɑː/US/ˈbʌlɡɚ/

bulgar is the alternative spelling of bulgur.

Meaning of bulgur

Noun

bulgur (countable and uncountable, plural bulgurs)

Wheat grains that have been steamed, dried, and crushed; a staple of Middle Eastern cooking.
- Before man baked bread, he made bulgur by parboiling wheat and spreading it out in the sun to dry. […] Every household in the Near East prepared a year's store of bulgur in the fall after the wheat harvest.1961, Frederic R. Senti, W. Dayton Maclay, “Age-Old Uses of Seeds and Some New Ones”, in Yearbook of Agriculture, The United States Department of Agriculture, page 31
Synonyms:

bulgur wheat

Noun capitalized: Bulgar

Bulgar (plural Bulgars)

A member of a migratory Turkic people from Central Asia who conquered Moesia in the 7th century and settled what is now Bulgaria, and some of whom then migrated to the Volga basin to establish Volga Bulgaria.
(rare) A Bulgarian.
- 'They need say nothing of the third Bulgar who must have been hanging about somewhere, but they must get him at all costs. He will certainly head for Paris.'1953, Ian Fleming, “Two Men In Straw Hats”, in Casino Royale, London: Pan Books, published 1955, page 44
- Prince Alexander of Battenberg […] was chosen by the Bulgars as their first ruler (1879).1957, Walter Phelps Hall, William Stearns Davis, The course of Europe since Waterloo, page 409

Adjective capitalized: Bulgar

Bulgar (not comparable)

Of or relating to the Bulgars.

Proper noun capitalized: Bulgar

Bulgar

The Turkic language of the Bulgar people.
A historical group of Turkic dialects, the only extant member of which is Chuvash.
(rare) Bulgarian, the South Slavic language spoken in Bulgaria.
- Prince Alexander of Battenberg […] was erect, gallant, and a man of good will; but he lacked tact, was unable to speak Bulgar, and was soon lost in a maze of intrigue.1957, Walter Phelps Hall, William Stearns Davis, The course of Europe since Waterloo, page 409
- In 1879 they elected as king Alexander of Battenberg, a nephew of the Tsarina and a gallant, well-meaning young man who, if he did not speak Bulgar, was sufficiently German by birth and training to be hostile to Russia.1965, Alfred A. Knopf, Europe since Napoleon, page 433

Forms of bulgar

plural	Bulgars
alternative form	Bolgar
alternative form	Bolğar
alternative form	Bulghar
alternative form	Bolghar

Origin of bulgar

From Medieval Latin Bulgarus, from Old Church Slavonic блъгаринъ (blŭgarinŭ), itself from the self designation of Turkic Bulgars, from Proto-Turkic *bulgar (“disturber, disturbing”), active noun/adjective of *bulga- (“to create a state of disorder; to stir, to disturb”). Displaced Old English Pulgare in the sense of "a Bulgarian", from the same Latin source. Doublet of bugger.

Words formed from bulgar

Bulgar leather

Questions about bulgar

What does bulgar mean?: Bulgar means a member of a migratory Turkic people from Central Asia who conquered Moesia in the 7th century and settled what is now Bulgaria, and some of whom then migrated to the Volga basin to establish Volga Bulgaria.
What is bulgar the alternative spelling of?: Bulgar is the alternative spelling of bulgur.
What part of speech is bulgar?: Bulgar can be a noun, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce bulgar?: Bulgar is pronounced /ˈbʌlɡɑː/ (UK).
What is the plural of bulgar?: The plural of bulgar is Bulgars.

Words near bulgar in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: bulgar (page history and authors); Bulgar (page history and authors); bulgur (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this entry: “bulgar.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/bulgar. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.