Latvian edit

Etymology edit

From a previous undeclinable Eastern Baltic *dewin-, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *néwin (changed by analogy with septiņi, astoņi, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *aśtṓ), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁néwn̥, *néwn̥ (nine), probably from the same stem as *néwos (new): apparently Proto-Indo-European had a base 4 numeric system, so that, after two 4's (= 8), 9 was the first (“new”) to be part of a complex numeral (compare Ossetian фараст (farast, nine) = фар (far, over) + аст (ast, eight)). The initial d in Eastern Baltic and Slavic is usually explained as dissimilation, given the two n's in *newin-, probably also under the influence of the initial d in desmit. A more recent suggestion is that Proto-Indo-European *néwn̥ < *h₁néwn̥, in which the h₁n sequence would yield an articulation similar to a d. This would have led to dialectal variation (*néwn, *déwn), with both forms preserved in parallel, the former giving rise to the Eastern Baltic terms, the latter to their Old Prussian counterpart. Cognates include Lithuanian devynì, Old Prussian newīnts (ninth), Old Church Slavonic девѧть (devętĭ), Russian, Ukrainian де́вять (dévjatʹ), Belarusian дзе́вяць (dzjévjacʹ), Bulgarian де́вет (dévet), Czech devět, Polish dziewięć, Gothic, Old High German 𐌽𐌹𐌿𐌽 (niun), German neun, English nine, Sanskrit नवन् (návan), Ancient Greek ἐννέα (ennéa) (< *en néwa), Latin novem, Tocharian A, Tocharian B ñu.[1]

Pronunciation edit

Latvian cardinal numbers
 <  8 9 10  > 
    Cardinal : deviņi
    Ordinal : devītais
    Multiplier : deviņreiz
    Nominal : deviņnieks
    Fractional : devītdaļa
(file)

Numeral edit

deviņi

  1. nine (the cipher, the cardinal number nine)
    skaitīt līdz deviņito count to nine
    četri un pieci ir deviņifour plus five is nine
    trīsreiz trīs ir deviņithree times three is nine
    uzrakstīt ciparu deviņito write the number nine
    no deviņiem atņemt četrusto subtract four from nine
  2. nine (an amount equal to nine)
    samaksāt deviņus latusto pay nine lats
    deviņi kilograminine kilos
    deviņas grāmatasnine books
  3. nine o'clock (a moment in time; nine hours after midnight, or after noon)
    pulkstenis ir deviņiit is nine o'clock
    darbs sākas deviņoswork begins at nine o'clock
    seanss sākas deviņos vakarāthe seance begins at nine o'clock in the evening
    viņš gaidīja līdz deviņiemhe waited until nine o'clock

Declension edit

Coordinate terms edit

See also edit

References edit

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