liels

Latvian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to decrease, to disappear; thin, slim, slender”) (maybe from the stem *el- (“hungry”)), with an extra suffix -l. The semantic development was probably: “thin, slender” > “long, tall (big in height)” > “remarkable because of size, significance”. A more recent suggestion derives liels from Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”) (again with an extra -l), with the meaning changing from “to pour” > “to even, to smooth (by pouring, casting)” > “to iron, to press” > “to make thin by pressing (e.g., a metal sheet)” > “to extend, increase (by pressing),” from which the meaning “big, large”. Cognates include Lithuanian lei̇̃las (“thin, slender; thin, watery”), lei̇̃nas (“thin, slender; thin, flexible”) (dialectal liẽlas (“big, large”) is a borrowing from Latvian), Old Prussian lailīsnan (“torture (accusative)”) (> infinitive *lailītwei, in turn from *leil- (“narrow, thin”)), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “small, little”) (from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz), Ancient Greek λειρός (leirós, “smooth, thin, delicate”) (compare λιμός (limós, “hunger, starvation”)).^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈlīɛ̄ls]
Audio: (file)

Adjective

liels (definite lielais, comparative lielāks, superlative vislielākais, adverb lieli)

big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)
liels trauks ― big bowl

liels cilvēks, dzīvnieks ― large person, animal

lielas rokas ― large hands

liels ezers ― big lake

liela pilsēta ― large city
big, large (being more than the appropriate size)
kurpes ir par lielām ― the shoes are too big
big, large (going a longer distance)
liels atvēziens ― big swing
(of sounds) intense, loud
mašīnu troksnis bija tik liels, ka cilvēku sarunas tikko varēja sadzirdēt ― the machine noise was so loud that one could hardly hear conversations
high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)
liels ātrums, blīvums, spiediens ― high speed, density, pressure

liels svars ― great, heavy weight

liels skaits ― large number, amount

liels skaitlis ― large number, cipher

liela peļņa ― large profit

liela nauda ― large (sum of) money

liels piena izlaukums ― high milk yield

liela taukvielu koncentrācija ― high fat concentration
used with numerical values (in the accusative)
simt paskalu liels spiediens ― a pressure of (lit. big of) 100 pascals

divas tonnas liela masa ― a mass of (lit. big of) two tons

vienu metru liels diametrs ― a diameter of (lit. big of) one meter

Andoras republikas teritorija ir 465 kvadrātkilometrus liela ― the territory of the Republic of Andorra is 465 square kilometers (lit. 465 square kilometers big)
big, grown-up, adult
Liene ar Juri izauga lieli ― Liene and Juri grew big (= grew up)

lielie ļaudis nav slikti, vismaz tādi kā Ilgas vecmāmiņa ― big people (= grown-ups) are not bad, at least those like Ilga's grandmother
big, large (having many members;)
liela ģimene ― large family
(of feelings, mental states) big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)
liels uztraukums, nogurums ― big excitement, tiredness

lielas bēdas ― great sorrow

liela mīlestība ― great love
big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)
liels trūkums ― big drawback

liela nabadzība ― great poverty

dzīvot lielā pārticībā ― to live in great prosperity

saņemt lielu dāvanu ― to receive a big present
(of events, actions) more intense, with more intense effects
liels uzbrukums ― large attack

liela cīņa ― big fight

lieli svētki ― big holidays, big celebration
(of duty, position) important, influential
liels amats ― great, important position, office
(of situations) great, big (offering many possibilities)
lielas priekšrocības ― great advantages

liela izvēle ― big choice
(of people) great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent
liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs ― great craftsman, organizer, helper

liela šuvēja ― great seamstress

liels grāmatu lāsītājs ― great book reader

liels makšķernieks ― great fisherman

liels rakstnieks, gleznotājs, mūziķis, melis ― great writer, painter, musician, storyteller

liels varonis ― great hero

lieli draugi ― great friends
(of people) big, important, rich
liels muižnieks ― great lord, gentleman

liels namīpašnieks ― great landlord
(of events, art, time periods) great, major, important, significant, influential
lielais karš ― the great war

izvirzīt lielus mērķus ― to identify major goals

lielais balets ― great ballet

liels laikmets rada lielu dzeju ― a great era creates great poetry

Declension

Indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of **liels**
	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)		feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative	liels	lieli	liela	lielas
genitive	liela	lielu	lielas	lielu
dative	lielam	lieliem	lielai	lielām
accusative	lielu	lielus	lielu	lielas
instrumental	lielu	lieliem	lielu	lielām
locative	lielā	lielos	lielā	lielās
vocative	—	—	—	—

Definite declension (noteiktā galotne) of **liels**
	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)		feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative	lielais	lielie	lielā	lielās
genitive	lielā	lielo	lielās	lielo
dative	lielajam	lielajiem	lielajai	lielajām
accusative	lielo	lielos	lielo	lielās
instrumental	lielo	lielajiem	lielo	lielajām
locative	lielajā	lielajos	lielajā	lielajās
vocative	lielo, lielais	lielie	lielo, lielā	lielās

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to bend”), from the stem *el- (“to bend”), whence also elkonis (“elbow”); compare also laiva (“boat”), leja (“valley”). The original meaning was probably “bending, curvature.” A similar semantic development can be seen in Sanskrit आणिः (āṇiḥ, “leg above knee”) (< *arṇí- < *elni-), Armenian ոլոք (olokʻ, “shinbone”) (< *elok- / *olok-). Another suggestion has liels (“shin, calf (of leg)”) be the nominalized form of the adjective liels (“great, large, big”) with intonational change.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈliɛ̂ls]
Audio: (file)

Noun

liels m (1st declension)

(anatomy) shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)
tikai nupat viņš sajuta sūrstošas sāpes kreisās kājas lielā ― only then did he feel a sharp pain in his left leg's shin
an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

Declension

Declension of *liels* (1st)
	singular	plural
nominative	liels	lieli
genitive	liela	lielu
dative	lielam	lieliem
accusative	lielu	lielus
instrumental	lielu	lieliem
locative	lielā	lielos
vocative	liel	lieli

Synonyms

(annual hard widening or growth on a tree): lielainums
apakšstilbs, stilbs
lielainums

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “liels”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca [Latvian Etymological Dictionary]‎^[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN

[LEV-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “liels”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca [Latvian Etymological Dictionary]‎^[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN

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