upuris

Latvian

Kara upuris (2)

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Dutch upper, or from Middle High German opper (cf. German Opfer), itself a borrowing from Latin operārī (“to try, to strive for; to offer, to sacrifice”). This word is first mentioned in 17th-century dictionaries.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [upuɾis]

Noun

upuris m (2nd declension)

1. (religion, mythology) offering, sacrifice (object or living being offered to a god or gods in a religious ritual so as to satisfy them or win their favor)

   upura kalns ― sacrificial hill

   upura jērs ― sacrificial lamb

   bet Dievs upuri nav pieņēmis ― but God did not accept the offering

2. victim (living being, usually human, which is exposed to, or killed by, direct violence, or a disaster or catastrophe)

   kara upuris ― war victim

   slepkavas upuris ― the assassin's victim

   terora upuris ― terror victim

   plūdu upuri ― flood victims

   satiksmes negadījuma upuris ― car accident victim

   ērglis metās uz savu upuri ― the eagle threw itself on its victim

3. (figuratively) victim (living being, usually human, who have to bear the unpleasant consequences of some act or event)

   alkohola upuris ― a victim of alcohol

   sagadīšanās upuris ― a victim of coincidence

   nepareizas audzināšanas upuris ― a victim of improper upbringing

   savas godkārības upuris ― a victim of one's own ambitions

4. (figuratively) sacrifice (the act of giving up something for some ulterior purpose, goal)

   sabiedriskais darbs, Dievam žēl, prasa upurus; un arī izdevumus ― social work, unfortunately, requires sacrifices; and also costs

   pēc Maijas nāves naivi domāju, ka neprecēšos nekad... tas bija smieklīgi, jo nevienam nebija vajadzīga šī atteikšanās, šis upuris ― after Maija's death I thought naively that I would never get married... this was ridiculous, because nobody needed this renunciation, this sacrifice

   Kasparovs piedāvāja zirdziņa upuri ― (Chess Master) Kasparov offered the sacrifice of a horse

Declension

Declension of upuris (2nd declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	upuris	upuri
accusative (akuzatīvs)	upuri	upurus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	upura	upuru
dative (datīvs)	upurim	upuriem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	upuri	upuriem
locative (lokatīvs)	upurī	upuros
vocative (vokatīvs)	upuri	upuri

Related terms

• upurēt, upurēties