ļauns

Latvian

Etymology

From the stem of the verb ļaut (“to allow, to permit; to tolerate”) (q.v.), with a suffix *-no. The original meaning was probably “allowed (to do as s/he pleased), allowed (to let go)” (compare palaist (“to let go”), palaidnis (“naughty child”)). Cognates include Lithuanian liáunas, liaũnas (“flexible; slim, slender; weal; free, serene”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʎāūns]

Adjective

ļauns (definite ļaunais, comparative ļaunāks, superlative visļaunākais, adverb ļauni)

1. evil, wicked (whose behavior, attitude towards others is hostile, cruel, vile, criminal)

   ļauns cilvēks ― evil person

   viens un tas pats cilvēks var būt vienā brīdī bezgala labs un otrā, neticami ļauns ― the same person can be one moment infintely good, and then, incredibly evil

2. evil (expressing hatred, cruelty)

   ļauns smīns ― evil grin

   ļauna sirds ― evil heart, malice

   ļauns prieks ― gloat (lit. evil joy)

   ļauna acs (kādam) ― (someone has) evil eye (i.e., can curse)

3. evil, bad (relating to, leading to something very undesirable, misfortune, sorrow; dangerous)

   ļauns liktenis ― evil fate

   ļauns stāvoklis ― bad, twisted condition

   noticis kas ļauns ― something bad happened

   ļaunākajā gadījumā ― in the worst (lit. worse) case

   visas labās un ļaunās dienas ― all the good and bad days

4. evil, twisted, dark (whose content expresses something hateful, cruel)

   ļauns humors ― twisted, dark humor

   ļauna slava ― infamy (lit. evil fame)

5. (of animals, plants) harmful

   no gundegu sugām pašas indīgākās ir ļaunās gundegas ― of all species of buttercup the most poisonous is the celery-leaved buttercup (lit. evil buttercup)

Declension

Indefinite declension nenoteiktā galotne) of ļauns

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular	plural		singular	plural
nominative	ļauns	ļauni		ļauna	ļaunas
genitive	ļauna	ļaunu		ļaunas	ļaunu
dative	ļaunam	ļauniem		ļaunai	ļaunām
accusative	ļaunu	ļaunus		ļaunu	ļaunas
instrumental	ļaunu	ļauniem		ļaunu	ļaunām
locative	ļaunā	ļaunos		ļaunā	ļaunās
vocative	—	—		—	—

Definite declension (noteiktā galotne) of ļauns

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular	plural		singular	plural
nominative	ļaunais	ļaunie		ļaunā	ļaunās
genitive	ļaunā	ļauno		ļaunās	ļauno
dative	ļaunajam	ļaunajiem		ļaunajai	ļaunajām
accusative	ļauno	ļaunos		ļauno	ļaunās
instrumental	ļauno	ļaunajiem		ļauno	ļaunajām
locative	ļaunajā	ļaunajos		ļaunajā	ļaunajās
vocative	ļauno, ļaunais	ļaunie		ļauno, ļaunā	ļaunās

Synonyms

• slikts

Antonyms

• labs

Derived terms

• ļaunums