dārgs

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See also: dargs

Latvian

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Etymology

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There are differing suggestions on the origin of this term, the most likely of which is to derive it from Proto-Indo-European *der-, *dor- (to tear, to peel, to pluck, to slice) (whence also dergties (to feel disgusted), q.v.), with an extra , from which Proto-Baltic *darg- > *dargs > dārgs (with lengthening from the intonation on -àr- > -ā̀r). The original meaning could have been “which got torn, became unpleasant” (compare Lithuanian dargùs (disgusting, unpleasant), Latvian derdzīgs (hideous)) > “unpleasantly high (price, reward)” > “expensive, having high value, valuable”, from which metaphorically “dear, beloved”. Note that the “beloved” meaning is relatively recent: it is not typical of old folkloric language. Other scholars, however, derive dārgs from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (to hold, to prop, to support). A third suggestion is that this stem is a Slavic innovation (with “dear, beloved” as the original meaning), from which it was borrowed into Baltic. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *dorgъ (expensive, dear, beloved) (Old Church Slavonic драгъ (dragŭ), Russian дорого́й (dorogój), Belarusian дарагі́ (darahí), Ukrainian дороги́й (dorohýj), Bulgarian драг (drag), Czech drahý, Polish drogi).[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [dàːɾɡs]
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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dārgs (definite dārgais, comparative dārgāks, superlative visdārgākais, adverb dārgi)

  1. expensive, costly (having a high price, for which one must pay very much)
    pārmērīgi dārgsprohibitively expensive
    cik dārgs?how expensive (is it)? how much does it cost?
    dārgs gredzens, tērpsexpensive ring, clothes
    dārgas kažokādas, konfektesexpensive fur, candy
    dārga laboratorijas iekārtaexpensive laboratory equipment
    smēķēt dārgus cigārusto smoke expensive cigars
    dārgs dzīvoklisexpensive apartment
  2. expensive, costly (which takes a lot of money for its services, realization, maintenance)
    dārgs meistars, amatnieksexpensive tradesman, artisan
    dārga dzīveexpensive life
    dārgas izpriecasexpensive, costly pleasures
  3. dear, important, valuable, precious (having great significance, high value; being difficult to find)
    pasaules tautām miers ir dārgspeace is dear, important to the people of the world
    katrs ūdens piliens ir dārgsevery drop of water is dear, important
    laiks, katrs bridis, mirklis ir dārgstime, every moment is dear, important
  4. dear, cherished, precious, beloved (that about which one has strong feelings)
    dārgas atmiņasdear, cherished memories
    mans dārgais bērnsmy dear, beloved child
    dārgie viesi!dear guests!
    visdārgākais cilvēksmost cherished, beloved person

Declension

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Synonyms

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Antonyms

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Derived terms

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References

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