cūka
Latvian
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Sus_scrofa_scrofa.jpg/250px-Sus_scrofa_scrofa.jpg)
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Baltic *kyaw-, *kyū-, from a palatalized version (perhaps by onomatopeia, by imitating this animal's sound) of (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *kew-, *kū- (“to howl, to shout; cf. kaukt “to howl””). A parallel, non-palatalized version is probably reflected in placenames like Kūkas, perhaps originally a region with many wild boars. An even further palatalized version (where *ky > *ḱ > *š > (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latvian s) may have given rise to placenames like Sauka, or, with a different suffix, to placenames in -saule like Jaunsaule, perhaps even to Lithuanian Šiauliaĩ. A different (minoritary) theory derives čūka from an earlier *sūka, borrowed from Slavic (cf. Russian су́ка (súka)); another (minoritary) viewpoint connects cūka to imitative words used to call pigs, like Russian чух! (čux!), чух-чух! (čux-čux!), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Belarusian, Ukrainian ацю! (acju!), Polish a ciu!, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latvian čuk-čuk!, Lithuanian čiùk-čiùk!, čiū́k-čiū́k! Cognates include (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Lithuanian dialectal čiūkà, kūkà, also čiūkùtis, kūkùtis (“piglet”), (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Russian dialectal чу́ха (čúxa), чухна́ (čuxná, “pig”).[1]
Pronunciation
Audio: | (file) |
Noun
cūka f (4th declension)
- pig (esp. Sus scrofa domesticus)
- mājas cūka ― domestic pig
- vaislas cūka ― breeding pig
- meža cūka ― wild boar (lit. forest pig)
- cūka kviec, rukšķ ― the pig is squeaking, squealing
- cūku kūts, aizgalds ― pig pen, pigsty
- cūku šķirnes ― pig breed
- cūku tauki ― lard (lit. pig fat)
- nobarot cūku ― to fatten a pig
- kaut cūku ― to slaughter a pig
- cūkas gaļa, cūkgaļa ― pig meat (= pork)
- cūka viņu sagaidīja sīkiem rukšķiem ― the pig greeted him with small squeals
- female pig, sow
- cūka ar sivēniem ― the sow with the piglets
- (figuratively) pig (a dirty, unhygienic person; also, a villainous man; colloquially also an unattractive female)
- viņu nosauca pazīstamu cilvēku klātbūtnē par cūku ― he was called a pig in the presence of people he knew
- (only plural) the name of a certain card game
- “cūkas” jeb “duraki” ir kāršu spēle, kuras mērķis ir atbrīvoties no rokās esošajām kārtīm ― “pigs,” or “fools,” is a card game whose objective it is to get rid of all the cards in one's hands
Declension
Derived terms
See also
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “cūka”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
- Latvian etymologies from LEV
- Latvian terms derived from Proto-Baltic
- Latvian terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Latvian terms borrowed from Slavic languages
- Latvian terms derived from Slavic languages
- Latvian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Latvian words with level intonation
- Latvian terms with audio links
- Latvian lemmas
- Latvian nouns
- Latvian feminine nouns
- Latvian terms with usage examples
- Latvian fourth declension nouns
- lv:Card games
- lv:Female animals
- lv:People
- lv:Pigs