žemaitis
Lithuanian
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From žẽmas (“nether”) + -ai̇̃tis, patronymical suffix similar to also descent by locality indicating suffix -iẽtis. Partly comes as a retreatment or dialectal type of German forms such as Samaythen (as seen in for example Jurbarkas - Georgenburg), Samogitian from *sam-g- + -ite. Compare also Semigalian. Cognate to Sami, Lithuanian žmogùs (“man”), Polish Żmudź (“Samogitian”), Sambia (German Samland (“Sambia”). For Lithuanian suffixes -aitis and -ietis, probably considerable is an alternation of /ai/ and /ie/ as in roots of Lithuanian káimas (“hamlet”), Old Prussian kaims (“hamlet”) and Lithuanian kiẽmas (“court, hamlet”), Latvian ciems (“hamlet”). Alternatively or otherwise could be understood as a derivative of Samland and it's reconstructional form *Sam-au, what is suggested by a reference of the patronymical suffix -aitis to landname suffixes -ava, -uva or slavic family, gens or placename suffix -ov- and by corresponding areas of historical language spread. Also consider interlinguistic pairs pertaining to the region as in Litauen - Letland(ia), Nadrovia - "netherland", possibly Sambia (Samland) and Samland, possibly Karšuva (as in Karšuvos giria (Curonian woods)) and Curland (Curonia). A thus suggested reconstructional form *Sam-au would possibly be supported by Lithuanian and Latvian versus Old Prussian pair of a diphthong /au/ to /aa/ interlinguistic or/and interdialectal alternation (maybe only when under stress) as in saulė (sun) or saule and sale - Žemaitis versus *Samauith which in its turn could be supported by also pertaining to the part of country name Ziemowit or Semovit. For a suffix -it-, compare Moscowite, also for example Old Prussian Tilsit. More at Samogitian.
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]žemai̇̃tis m (plural žemai̇̃čiai, feminine žemaitė) stress pattern 2
- Samogitian (person from Samogitia)
- Hypernym: lietùvis
- Coordinate terms: aukštai̇̃tis, dzū̃kas, suvalkiẽtis, lietùvininkas
Declension
[edit]| singular (vienaskaita) |
plural (daugiskaita) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (vardininkas) | žemai̇̃tis | žemai̇̃čiai |
| genitive (kilmininkas) | žemai̇̃čio | žemai̇̃čių |
| dative (naudininkas) | žemai̇̃čiui | žemai̇̃čiams |
| accusative (galininkas) | žemai̇̃tį | žemaičiùs |
| instrumental (įnagininkas) | žemaičiù | žemai̇̃čiais |
| locative (vietininkas) | žemai̇̃tyje | žemai̇̃čiuose |
| vocative (šauksmininkas) | žemai̇̃ti | žemai̇̃čiai |
Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]See also
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- “žemaitis”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2026
- “žemaitis”, in Bendrinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of common Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, n.d.
- “žemaičiai”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2026
- “žemaičiai” in Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija [Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia]
Samogitian
[edit]
Noun
[edit]žemaitis m (plural žemaitē)
- Samogitian (native or inhabitant of Samogitia)
Declension
[edit]| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | žemaitis | žemaitio | žemaitē |
| genitive | žemaitė | žemaitiu | žemaitiu |
| dative | žemaitiou | žemaitems | žemaitems |
| accusative | žemaiti | žemaitio | žemaitius |
| instrumental | žemaitio | žemaitēs | žemaitēs |
| locative | žemaitie | žemaitiūs | žemaitiūs |
| vocative | žemaiti | žemaitio | žemaitē |