Nalaz

Nalaz is a noun used in several South Slavic languages, notably Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, meaning either the act of finding or the thing that has been found. It can refer to a discovery in everyday use or to a discovered object in formal contexts such as archaeology, museology, or documentation.

In archaeology and related fields, a nalaz denotes an artefact or a collection of artefacts recovered from a site and subsequently recorded in field notes, catalogs, and reports. A nalaz is typically described by its provenance, material character, and dating, and may form part of a larger assemblage used to interpret a site or period. The term can also appear in administrative or legal contexts to indicate a finding or conclusion issued by an authority, such as a court or investigative body.

Morphology and usage: nalaz is masculine in these languages; its plural form is nalazi when referring to multiple findings. The related verb is naći, meaning “to find.” Common collocations include phrases like nalaz arheološki (archaeological find) or nalaz istrage (investigative finding).

Etymology and cognates: the word derives from Slavic roots associated with the verb naći, through a nominal form that expresses the result of finding. While pronunciation and spelling show minor regional variation, the term is widely understood across the Western Balkans and appears in scientific, legal, and cultural contexts.