arājs
Latvian
Etymology
Apparently a mixture of arējs (“(temporary) plowman”) and an unattested form *artājs, from art (“to plow”) + -ājs. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *ortajь (archaic Russian ратай (rataj), Old Church Slavonic ра́тай (rátaj)).[1]
Noun
arājs m (1st declension)
- plowman (person who plows the land (with a horse-drawn plow)
- arājs stingri turēja arklu ― the plowman firmly held the plow
- arājs nāca tīrumā art ― the plowman came to the field to plow
- arājs ara un gani ganīja ― the plowman plows and the shepherds tend (the sheep)
Usage notes
The difference between arājs and arējs seems to be that arājs describes a profession, a permanent way of life, whereas arējs refers to someone (or some animal) who happens to be plowing now.
Declension
Declension of arājs (1st declension)
Synonyms
Related terms
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “art”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN