nabags

Latvian

Etymology

Borrowed from Old East Slavic небогъ (nebogŭ, “poor”) or from Belarusian небог (njebóh), небога (njebóha) (cf. Old Church Slavonic небогъ (nebogŭ)); Lithuanian nabãgas is likewise a borrowing from Slavic. Like its opposite bagāts (“rich”) (q.v.), its basic stem is the same as Old Church Slavonic богъ (bogŭ, “happiness; abundance, riches; god”), so the original meaning in Slavic was probably “(one) whom god gave nothing.” The word was borrowed into Latvian before the 13th century and used from the beginning both as a noun and as an adjective.

Pronunciation

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Noun

nabags m (1st declension, feminine form: nabadze)

1. poor man, pauper (man, or in general a person, who cannot provide for himself and lives from the charity of others)

   pilsēta, pagasta nabagi ― city, parish poor

   akls, klibs, vecs nabags ― blind, lame, old poor man

   kļūt par nabagu ― to become a poor man

   nabaga dāvana ― alms (lit. donation to the poor)

   kad nabags redz cita cilvēka bagātību, viņš jūtas vēl nabagāks ― when a poor man sees another person's riches, he feels even poorer

2. (often in the genitive, used as an adjective) poor man (man, or in general a person, who deserves pity; in this sense, the diminutive form nabadziņš is more frequently used)

   nabaga bērns, meitene ― poor child, girl

   nabaga sunītis salst ārā ― the poor dog is freezing outside

   skolotāji mani plucināja aiz ausīm, bet tēvs, nabags, pacietību zaudējis, kaustīja ar striķa galu ― the teachers pulled my ears, but (my) father, poor him, having lost his patience, hit me with a piece of rope

Declension

Declension of nabags (1st declension)

	singular	plural
nominative	nabags	nabagi
genitive	nabaga	nabagu
dative	nabagam	nabagiem
accusative	nabagu	nabagus
instrumental	nabagu	nabagiem
locative	nabagā	nabagos
vocative	nabag	nabagi

Adjective

nabags (definite nabagais, comparative nabagāks, superlative visnabagākais, adverb nabagi)

1. poor (who lacks possessions, the means of surviving)

   nabagais kaimiņš ― the poor neighbor

   viņš ir ļoti nabags ― he is very poor

   pasaulē nav neviens tik nabags, ka tas navarētu tomēr vēl kādam palīdzēt ― in the world there is nobody so poor that he can't really help someone else

   kad nabags redz cita cilvēka bagātību, viņš jūtas vēl nabagāks ― when a poor man sees another person's riches, he feels even poorer

2. poor (having, containing little or none of something, especially something important, valuable or useful)

   zivīm nabaga upe ― a river poor in fish

   ar kokiem nabaga zeme ― land poor in trees

   upe sekla, vasarā ūdeņiem nabaga ― the river is shallow, in the summer (it is) poor in water

   visnabagākā ar palmām ir Eiropa: te aug tikai viena palma, pundurpalma ― the poorest (continent) in palm trees is Europe: here, only one palm tree grows, the palmetto tree

3. poor (not sufficiently varied and diverse, in form, nuances, parts; one-sided, limited)

   cik dzīve nabaga! cik maz tai laba! un, ak, cik maz ir skaista!... ― how poor life is! how little good it has! and, ah! how little beauty it (has, is)!...

   jo augstāk mēs tikām, jo ainava kļuva nabagāka ― the higher up we got (= climbed), the poorer the landscape became

   faktiem un pierādījumiem nabags viņa ievadraksts ― his editorial (was) poor in facts and evidence

4. (of the mind, the psyche, the spirit) poor, shallow, not sensitive

   Jorena psiholoģiska līnija ir inerta, dvēseliski nabaga ― Jorens' psychological line is inert, spiritually poor

Declension

Indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of nabags

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular	plural		singular	plural
nominative	nabags	nabagi		nabaga	nabagas
genitive	nabaga	nabagu		nabagas	nabagu
dative	nabagam	nabagiem		nabagai	nabagām
accusative	nabagu	nabagus		nabagu	nabagas
instrumental	nabagu	nabagiem		nabagu	nabagām
locative	nabagā	nabagos		nabagā	nabagās
vocative	—	—		—	—

Definite declension (noteiktā galotne) of nabags

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular	plural		singular	plural
nominative	nabagais	nabagie		nabagā	nabagās
genitive	nabagā	nabago		nabagās	nabago
dative	nabagajam	nabagajiem		nabagajai	nabagajām
accusative	nabago	nabagos		nabago	nabagās
instrumental	nabago	nabagajiem		nabago	nabagajām
locative	nabagajā	nabagajos		nabagajā	nabagajās
vocative	nabago, nabagais	nabagie		nabago, nabagā	nabagās

Synonyms

• (of "lacking possessions"): nabadzīgs, nemantīgs, mazturīgs, trūcīgs
• (of "deserving pity"): nabadzīgs

Antonyms

• bagāts
• mantīgs
• turīgs

Derived terms

• nabadzība
• nabadzināt
• nabadzīgs
• nabadziņš, nabadzīte

Related terms

• ubags, ubadze