veļi
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See also: Appendix:Variations of "veli"
Latvian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Proto-Baltic *welias, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“tear; pluck; rob; hurt; kill”). Cognates include Lithuanian vẽlės, vė̃lės (singular vėlė̃, velė̃; compare also veliónis (“dead”)), Proto-Germanic *walaz (“dead”) (Old Norse valr (“fallen in the battlefield”), Valhǫll (“abode of fallen warriors”), valkyrja (“Valkyrie”) (i.e., those who led the dead warriors to Odin), Old High German wal (“battlefield”)), Tocharian A wäl (“to die”), walu (“dead one”).[1]
Noun[edit]
veļi m (2nd declension)
- (mythology, poetic, usually in the plural) soul of the dead; ghost
- veļu valstība, valsts ― the realm of the dead
- veļu kults ― cult of the dead
- veļu laiks ― time of the dead (time in October when the dead return to visit their descendants)
- aiziet veļos ― to go to the dead (i.e., to die)
Usage notes[edit]
There is a singular form velis, sporadically attested.
Declension[edit]
Declension of veļi (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | — | veļi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | — | veļus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | — | veļu |
| dative (datīvs) | — | veļiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | — | veļiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | — | veļos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | veļi |
Derived terms[edit]
Related terms[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “veļi”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN