Latvian edit

Etymology edit

Originally the past participle of a verb *izcilt, from cilt (to rise), still attested dialectally (cf. celties “to rise” from transitive celt “to raise”). The original meaning was thus “raised, risen (above others)” > “outstanding.”[1]

Pronunciation edit

(file)

Adjective edit

izcils (definite izcilais, comparative izcilāks, superlative visizcilākais, adverb izcili, izcilu, izcilus)

  1. (of people) great, excellent, outstanding, brilliant (having great, above average capacity, skill)
    izcils zinātnieksgreat, outstanding scientist, scholar
    izcils sportistsgreat, outstanding athlete
    kādas lieliskas rakstura īpašības bija piemitušas šim izcilajam puisim!what great character qualities this excellent boy has!
    izcilais igauņu valodnieks... atzīmēja savu 85. dzimšanas dienuthe great Estonian linguist... celebrated his 85. birthday
  2. great, excellent, outstanding (above average in quality, importance, significance)
    izcils panākumsa great success
    izcilas spējasexcellent skills
    izcili sasniegumioutstanding achievements
    izcila lomaa prominent role
    izcils skaistumsoutstanding beauty
    Mierlauks nebija vis kaut kāds teorētiķis, bet izcils, liels talantsMierlauks was not some theoretician, but an outstanding, great talent
    latviešu tautas garīgās kultūras izcilākie paraugi rodami lietišķajā mākslāthe most outstanding examples of the spiritual culture of the Latvian people can be found in applied arts
    humoram ir izcila nozīme jau bērna dzīvēhumor has a very important role already in a child's life (let alone an adult's)

Declension edit

Synonyms edit

Derived terms edit

References edit

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