spogulis

Latvian

Spogulis

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *speng-, *spang- (> *spuog-, +‎ -ulis), from Proto-Indo-European *speng- (“to shine”). Originally a dialectal word with many variant forms, meaning “shine, gloss, sheen.” Atis Kronvalds introduced it in the literary language in the 1860s, first to mean “shiny surface (of water)” (ūdens-spogulis), from which it spread to its other current meanings (compare German Wasserspiegel). The word really entered the literary language after A. Pumpurs included it in his epic poem Lāčplēsis (“Bear-slayer”). It has mostly replaced a former German borrowing spieģelis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [spūōɡulis]

Noun

spogulis m (2nd declension)

1. mirror (smooth surface that reflects light so as to produce an image of what is in front of it)

   stikla, metāla spogulis ― glass, metal mirror

   'sienas, kabatas, galda spogulis ― wall, pocket, table mirror

   apskatīt sevi spogulī ― to look at oneself in the mirror

   viņa ķemmē matus un skatās spogulī ― she combs her hair and looks in the mirror

   greizais spogulis ― twisted, distorting mirror (i.e., one which gives a wrong image)

2. calm water surface

   ezera, upes spogulis ― lake, river surface

3. (optics) a reflective surface as an optical system

   spoguļa formula ― mirror formula

   spoguļa fokuss ― mirror focus

   spoguļa lineārais palielinājums ― mirror linear increase

4. (figuratively) something that reflects or shows something (a quality, a feature, etc.)

   prese ir sabiedriskās domas spogulis ― the press is a mirror of public opinion

   acis ir cilvēka dvēseles spogulis ― the eyes are the mirror of a person's soul

5. an area of an animal's body that is different from its surroundings and characterizes the animal

   mugurpusē ap asti stirnai ir spilgti balts laukums, tā sauktais “spogulis” ― back around the tail of the roe deer is a bright white spot, the so-called “mirror”

Declension

Declension of spogulis (2nd declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	spogulis	spoguļi
accusative (akuzatīvs)	spoguli	spoguļus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	spoguļa	spoguļu
dative (datīvs)	spogulim	spoguļiem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	spoguli	spoguļiem
locative (lokatīvs)	spogulī	spoguļos
vocative (vokatīvs)	spoguli	spoguļi

Synonyms

• spieģelis