nīlzirgs

Latvian

Nīlzirgs

Etymology

From Nīla (“Nile river”) +‎ zirgs (“horse”), probably a calque of German Nilpferd, itself ultimately a calque (with Nile instead of river) from Ancient Greek ἱπποπόταμος (hippopótamos) (from ἵππος (híppos, “horse”) + ποταμός (potamós, “river”)).

Noun

nīlzirgs m (1st declension)

1. hippopotamus (genus Hippopotamus)

   nīlzirgu bars ― hippopotamus herd

   nīlzirgu dzimtene ir Āfrikas vidiene ― the hippopotamus homeland is the interior of Africa

Declension

Declension of nīlzirgs (1st)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative	nīlzirgs	nīlzirgi
genitive	nīlzirga	nīlzirgu
dative	nīlzirgam	nīlzirgiem
accusative	nīlzirgu	nīlzirgus
instrumental	nīlzirgu	nīlzirgiem
locative	nīlzirgā	nīlzirgos
vocative	nīlzirg	nīlzirgi

Synonyms

• behemots, begemots
• hipopotams