censonis

Latvian

Etymology

From censt(ies) (to try) +‎ -onis. The standard stem for this verb has š (es cenšos, “I try”), but dialectally also t (es centos), which explains why there are derived forms with t, like centīgs, centība (zeal), and with s, like censonis (striver, fighter, assiduous person) or sacensība (competition) (and also, coloquially, censīgs, censība).[1]

Noun

censonis m, 2nd declension, feminine form: censone

  1. striver, fighter, assiduous person (someone who, while overcoming difficulties, tries to achieve a goal; someone who dedicates himself, all his strength, to a goal)
    dzīves sūrums agrāk apraka jauno censoņu sapņus — life's bitterness soon buried the young fighters' dreams
    viņš domā par censoņiem, viņu sapņiem, viņu cīniņiem — he thought about the strivers, their dreams, their struggles

Declension

Related terms

References

  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns. 1992, 2001. Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīga: AVOTS. ISBN 9984700127.
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Last modified on 10 February 2013, at 22:54