abinieks
Latvian
editEtymology
editCoined in 1860-70 (author undetermined) from abi (“both”) + -nieks, following the model of Ancient Greek ἀμφίβιον (amphíbion), from ἀμφί (amphí, “of both kinds”) and βίος (bíos, “life”). This word quickly replaced earlier proposed forms like abejāds and abejādnieks.[1]
Pronunciation
editNoun
editabinieks m (1st declension)
- amphibian (vertebrates of the class Amphibia that live both on land and in water)
- astaini, bezastaini abinieki ― tailed, non-tailed amphibians
- abinieku oliņas, kāpuri ― eggs, larvae of amphibians
- abinieki ir tādi dzīvnieki, kas dzīvo gan ūdenī, gan uz sauszemes, kā, piemēram, vardes ― amphibians are the animals that live both in water and on dry land, such as, for example, frogs
- vairums abinieku sugu ir derīgi dzīvnieki, jo tie iznīcina lauksaimniecībai kaitīgus kukaiņus— most species of amphibians are useful animals, because they destroy insects that are harmful to agriculture
Usage notes
editIn the biological sense (Amphibia), abinieks is the usual term. In non-biological senses ('amphibian tank'), however, only amfībija is possible.
Declension
editDeclension of abinieks (1st declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | abinieks | abinieki |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | abinieku | abiniekus |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | abinieka | abinieku |
dative (datīvs) | abiniekam | abiniekiem |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | abinieku | abiniekiem |
locative (lokatīvs) | abiniekā | abiniekos |
vocative (vokatīvs) | abiniek | abinieki |
Synonyms
editReferences
edit- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “abi”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN