lēns
Latvian
Etymology
From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Proto-Indo-European *ley-, *lē-, *le- (“to let, to allow”) (whence also Latvian laist (“to let, to allow”), q.v.) with a suffix -no. The semantic evolution was probably: “which is allowed (to do something)” > “not dangerous, gentle, calm” > “slow.” Cognates include Lithuanian lė́nas (“slow, peaceful”), Russian лень (len', “laziness”), Czech líný (“slow, lazy”), Polish leń (“lazy person”), Latin lēnis (“gentle, slow”).[1]
Pronunciation
| Audio: | (file) |
Adjective
lēns (definite lēnais, comparative lēnāks, superlative vislēnākais, adverb lēni, lēnām, lēnu)
- slow (which moves so as to cover relatively small distances in every time interval)
- lēns gājējs, braucējs ― slow walker, rider
- lēns vilciens ― slow train
- lēna upe ― slow river
- lēns vējš ― slow wind
- (of events, actions) slow (which does not happen quickly, swiftly)
- lēns brauciens ― slow ride
- lēna iešana ― slow walk
- lēns darba ritms ― slow work rhythm
- lēna domāšana ― slow thinking
- lēna uguns ― slow fire (i.e., with low flames)
- (of time periods) slow (without much action, without much happening)
- lēns vakars ― slow evening
- (of people) calm, meek, peaceful (who usually does not become angry, worried, who does not react quickly; (of animals) who is not wild, angry)
- lēns cilvēks ― peaceful person
- lēna meitene ― peaceful girl
- lēns raksturs ― calm, peaceful character
- lēns ka jērs ― peaceful as a lamb
- lēns suns ― nice, calm (not wild) dog
- (of people, animals) slow (who does not move, work, or act quickly)
- lēns strādnieks ― slow worker
- lēns zirgs ― slow horse
Declension
indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of lēns
| masculine (vīriešu dzimte) | feminine (sieviešu dzimte) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) |
singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) | ||||||
| nominative (nominatīvs) | lēns | lēni | lēna | lēnas | |||||
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | lēnu | lēnus | lēnu | lēnas | |||||
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | lēna | lēnu | lēnas | lēnu | |||||
| dative (datīvs) | lēnam | lēniem | lēnai | lēnām | |||||
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | lēnu | lēniem | lēnu | lēnām | |||||
| locative (lokatīvs) | lēnā | lēnos | lēnā | lēnās | |||||
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | — | — | — | |||||
Antonyms
Derived terms
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “lēns”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN