svārki

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Latvian

[edit]
 svārki on Latvian Wikipedia
Svārki (1)
Svārki (2)

Etymology

[edit]

The origin of this word is not clear. The fact that, besides the Lithuanian cognate švar̃kas (suit jacket, coat) there is also šar̃kas (piece of clothing; fisherman's coat) suggests a Proto-Baltic form *sarkas, the initial šv resulting perhaps from the influence of the common collocate adjective švarùs (clean); but there is no parallel adjective in Latvian to justify the initial sv. A possible *sarkas has further been compared with Russian соро́чка (soróčka, shirt), Old Church Slavonic срака (sraka, clothing) and ultimately derived as a borrowing from Vulgar Latin serica, sar(i)ca (silk, silk clothes), itself a borrowing from Oriental languages. Some researchers, however, disagree with this comparison.[1]

Pronunciation

[edit]
This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Noun

[edit]

svārki m (1st declension)

  1. (men's clothing) coat, jacket (upper part of a suit)
    svārki bez atlokiemcoat without lapels
    vilnas svārkiwool coat
    svārku iekškabatathe inside pocket of a coat
    kājas Kalvicam basas, mugurā tikai svārki uzmesti virs kreklaKalvics was barefoot, wearing only a (suit) coat on top of (his) shirt
  2. (women's clothing) skirt (garment covering the lower body, from the waist down)
    kupli svārkifull skirt
    svārki un blūzeskirt and blouse
    jaunas sievietes var atļauties arī kuplākus svārkus zvana griezumāyoung women can also allow themselves to wear fuller bell-shaped skirts
    ik uz soļa svārku dziļais iegriezums pavērās pāri celim, un pazibēja zīda zeķē tērptā kājaat every step the skirt's deep cut opened a little above the knee, flashing a leg clad in silk stockings

Usage notes

[edit]

The singular form svārks exists in theory, but is apparently never used.

In the context of men's clothing usage of svārki has parallels with the way English dress is used when referring to men's clothing, namely, for a formal, archaic or rustic effect. Colloquially svārki would be unequivocally understood to mean a skirt. It is common to reserve svārki for shorter skirts, for longer styles using brunči instead. Although renditions such as minibrunči or minibruncīši "miniskirt" are equally possible and likely depend on individual preference.

Declension

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “svārki”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN