censonis

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Latvian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From censt(ies) (to try) +‎ -onis. The standard stem for this verb has š (es cenšos, “I try”), but dialectally also t (es centos), which explains why there are derived forms with t, like centīgs, centība (zeal), and with s, like censonis (striver, fighter, assiduous person) or sacensība (competition) (and also, colloquially, censīgs, censība).[1]

Noun[edit]

censonis m (2nd declension, feminine form: censone)

  1. striver, fighter, assiduous person (someone who, while overcoming difficulties, tries to achieve a goal; someone who dedicates himself, all his strength, to a goal)
    dzīves sūrums agrāk apraka jauno censoņu sapņuslife's bitterness soon buried the young fighters' dreams
    viņš domā par censoņiem, viņu sapņiem, viņu cīniņiemhe thought about the strivers, their dreams, their struggles

Declension[edit]

Related terms[edit]

References[edit]

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