stulbs

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *stulb-, a variant of *stilb- (whence also Latvian stilbs (“shin, shank”), from Proto-Indo-European *stl̥b-, an ablaut variant of *stelb (“post, polr, jamb”) (whence also stilbs, q.v.), from *stel- (“to put in a standing position, to erect; standing, immobile, stiff”) with an extra b. The semantic evolution was probably: “motionless, stiff” > “surprised, stunned” > “stupid.” Cognates include Lithuanian stul̃bis (“stupid person; old, bad horse”), stul̃bti, stùlbti (“to be stunned, dumbfounded; to become stiff with surprise or fear”), Proto-Slavic *sla-pro (stŭlbŭ) (Russian столб (stolb, “post”)), Middle Low German stulpen (“to overthrow, to overturn, to topple”), German stolpern (“to stumble, to trip up”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: [stùlps]

Adjective

stulbs (def. stulbais, comp. stulbāks, sup. visstulbākais; adv. stulbi)

1. stupid, dumb (mentally challenged, not able to comprehend, to understand; also, foolish)

   stulbs kā zābaks — stupid as a boot (i.e., very stupid)

   Valentīna ir līdz smieklīgumam stulba; viņas nejēdzīgas atbildes stundās izsauc klasē smieklu šaltis — Valentīna is ridiculously stupid; her absurd answers caused bursts of laughter in the classroom

   es neesmu tik stulbs, lai nesaprastu, ka mani ļoti ļoti pieklājīgā veidā izraida — I am not so stupid as not to understand that I am being thrown out in a very, very polite way

2. stupid, dumb (expressing such qualities)

   stulbs skatiens — stupid look, stare

   stulba rīcība — stupid action, behavior

   stulbas kaprīzes — stupid whims

   es no visa esmu ieguvis, pat no ļaunu ļaužu stulbā naida — I've received (some) of everything, even (some) of the people's stupid hate

3. (of actions, states) stupid (very undesirable, unwanted, inconvenient}}

   rīt ir tā stulbā sapulce — tomorrow is that stupid meeting

   “man tāds stulbs vārds,” viņš atzinās; “mani sauc... Krists... es pats tur neesmu vainīgs!” — “I have such a stupid name,” he confessed; “I am... Krists... I am not responsible for that (name)!”

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of stulbs

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	stulbs	stulbi		stulba	stulbas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	stulbu	stulbus		stulbu	stulbas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	stulba	stulbu		stulbas	stulbu
dative (datīvs)	stulbam	stulbiem		stulbai	stulbām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	stulbu	stulbiem		stulbu	stulbām
locative (lokatīvs)	stulbā	stulbos		stulbā	stulbās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Synonyms

• dumjš
• idiotisks
• muļķīgs
• neprātīgs

Antonyms

• gudrs

Derived terms

• stulbenis, stulbene
• stulbība
• stulbums