āpsis

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See also: apsis and Apsis

Latvian[edit]

 āpsis on Latvian Wikipedia
Āpsis

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Baltic; compare Lithuanian opšrùs, Old Prussian wobsdus. The source may be Proto-Indo-European *op- (to do, carry out), from which Latvian regionalism āpēties (work hard) (compare Sanskrit अपः (ápaḥ, work, organizing), Latin opus (work, task)). This name would be justified by the badger's well-made burrows. A parallel case is German Dachs (badger) from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (weave, build).[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

(file)

Noun[edit]

āpsis m (2nd declension)

  1. badger (name of several species of mustelids, especially Meles meles)
    āpša ādabadger skin
    āpšu alasbadger burrow
    dzīvot kā āpsim alāto live like a badger in his burrow (= without paying attention to the lives of others)

Declension[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “āpsis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN