apavs
Latvian
Etymology
From the same stem as the verb aut (“to put on (footwear)”): *ap-aw-as > apavs. The original meaning, probably “bandage,” “covering (cloth),” was already often connected to footwear in 17th- and 18th-century texts, though not obligatorily (cf. expressions like kāju apavs “foot apavs” in folk tales). Cognates include Lithuanian ãpavas, Russian обувь (obuvʹ), Czech obuv, Polish obuw.[1]
Pronunciation
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Noun
apavs m (1st declension)
- footwear (shoes, boots, sandals, etc.)
- ādas, gumijas apavi ― leather, rubber footwear, shoes
- vasaras, ziemas apavi ― summer, winter fotwear, shoes
- viegli, smagi apavi ― light, heavy footwear, shoes
- mājas apavi ― home, indoor shoes, footwear
- labot apavus ― to mend, to repair shoes, fotwear
- kurpnieks novietoja kurpi uz plaukta blakus citiem labojamiem apaviem ― the cobbler placed the shoe on the shelf, next to the other footwear to be mended
- gaumīgi iekārtotajās veikala telpās vitrinās izvietotas dāždažādu lielumu, fasonu un krāsu kurpes un citi apavi ― in the indoor showcases of a tastefully decorated shop one places shoes and other footwear of various sizes, styles and colors
- un pēkšņi šķiet: ir apavs caurs ― and suddenly it seemed: the shoe has a hole
Usage notes
Latvian apavi is more frequently used than English footwear and is often better translated as shoes (cf. Russian обувь (obuvʹ)); the term kāja, usually "leg", "foot", is less frequently used as a synonym. Note also that the plural forms (apavi, etc.) are much more frequently used than the singular forms (apavs, etc.)
Declension
Declension of apavs (1st declension)
Synonyms
Derived terms
Related terms
See also
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “apavs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN