ērts
Latvian
Alternative forms
Etymology
Originally the past participle *ērtas of a (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Baltic verb *ērti (“to loosen; to crumble”) (compare (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lithuanian iterative érdėti (“to crumble”)), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *er- (“loose, light, rare, sparse; to fail, to crumble, to disintegrate”) (whence also Latvian irt (“to crumble”), q.v.). The meaning changed from “crumbling; loose” to “loose(ly fit),” “unencumbering,” “comfortable.” Cognates include Lithuanian er̃tas (“wide, comfortable”).[1]
Pronunciation
Adjective
ērts (definite ērtais, comparative ērtāks, superlative visērtākais, adverb ērti)
- comfortable, convenient (which can be carried out easily, unencumbered by problems or hindrances, undisturbed)
- lai būtu ērtāk strādāt, Ferdinands nometās laivā uz ceļiem ― so that it would be more convenient, comfortable to work, Ferdinands set off on a boat
- comfortable, cosy (activity, situation, place, object (e.g., article of clothing) such that it gives this feeling of freedom and well-being)
- ērts dzīvoklis ― comfortable, cosy apartment
- ērtas istabas ― comfortable, cosy rooms
- ērts krēsls ― comfortable chair
- ērti svārki ― comfortable skirt
- convenient, handy (simple, easy, expedient, not difficult to use)
- ērts satiksmes līdzeklis ― convenient means of transportation
- (especially in the adverbial form, with the verb būt (“to be”)) convenient; adequate; polite
- nebūs ērti traucēt inženieri darbā; viņš droši vien ļoti aizņemts ― it won't be adequate, polite to disturb the engineer in (his) work; he is probably very busy
Declension
indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of ērts
| masculine (vīriešu dzimte) | feminine (sieviešu dzimte) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) |
singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) | ||||||
| nominative (nominatīvs) | ērts | ērti | ērta | ērtas | |||||
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | ērtu | ērtus | ērtu | ērtas | |||||
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | ērta | ērtu | ērtas | ērtu | |||||
| dative (datīvs) | ērtam | ērtiem | ērtai | ērtām | |||||
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | ērtu | ērtiem | ērtu | ērtām | |||||
| locative (lokatīvs) | ērtā | ērtos | ērtā | ērtās | |||||
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | — | — | — | |||||
Synonyms
Derived terms
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ērts”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN