laipns
Latvian
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]- (dialectal form) lipns
Etymology
[edit]From the same stem as the verb lipt (“to stick, to adhere”) (q.v.), from which it was derived (with vowel gradation, like laipa (“footbridge”), and an extra n; compare, without vowel gradation, the dialectal variant lipns). The semantic evolution was probably “sticky, adhesive” > “clingy” > “attentive” > “nice, polite, kind.” Cognates include Lithuanian lipnùs (“sticky, adhesive; nice, kind”).[1] Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *leyp-.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adjective
[edit]laipns (definite laipnais, comparative laipnāks, superlative vislaipnākais, adverb laipni)
- nice, polite, kind, friendly, warm, welcoming (one that treats others with attention, sensitivity, kindness, friendliness)
- laipns jaunietis ― friendly, nice young man
- laipna namamāte ― welcoming hostess
- būt laipnam pret viesiem ― to be courteous, welcoming to the guests
- esi, esiet tik laipns... — would you be so kind as to... (introducing a polite request)
- (such that it expresses or reflects such qualities: attention, politeness, kindness, friendliness...)
- laipns smaids ― a kind, warm smile
- runāt laipnā balsī ― to speak with a kind voice
- laipni vārdi ― kind, welcoming words
- laipna uzņemšana ― warm welcome
Declension
[edit]indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of laipns
masculine (vīriešu dzimte) | feminine (sieviešu dzimte) | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) |
singular (vienskaitlis) |
plural (daudzskaitlis) | ||||||
nominative (nominatīvs) | laipns | laipni | laipna | laipnas | |||||
accusative (akuzatīvs) | laipnu | laipnus | laipnu | laipnas | |||||
genitive (ģenitīvs) | laipna | laipnu | laipnas | laipnu | |||||
dative (datīvs) | laipnam | laipniem | laipnai | laipnām | |||||
instrumental (instrumentālis) | laipnu | laipniem | laipnu | laipnām | |||||
locative (lokatīvs) | laipnā | laipnos | laipnā | laipnās | |||||
vocative (vokatīvs) | — | — | — | — | |||||
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “laipns”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN