Latvian edit

Etymology edit

From svešs (unknown, foreign, strange) +‎ -ums.

Pronunciation edit

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Noun edit

svešums m (1st declension)

  1. foreign land, country (a land or country other than one's homeland)
    man gribējas pastāstīt par krievu meiteni, kuru liktenis ilgu klejojumu gados aizvedis svešumāI wanted to tell (you) about a Russian girl whose fate took her to foreign lands for long years of wandering
    ceļot ir labi... arī tādēļ, ka, no svešuma kalna raugoties, dzimtā mala ir daudz mīļākato travel is good... also because, looking from the hill(s) of a foreign land, the native country is (= looks) much sweeter
    bēgļi iet nesteigdamies, jo dzimteni zaudējušiem, tāpat kā mirušiem, nav kur steigties: vienus gaida svešums, otrus kapu smiltisrefugees go without hurrying, because, having lost their homeland, they, like dead people, have nowhere to hurry: foreign lands await some (of them), the sands of a grave (await) others
  2. strangeness, foreignness, distance (the quality of that which is strange, foreign, distant)
    apkaimes svešumsthe foreigness of a neighborhood
    visur bažīgi pretī raudzījās sveši cilvēki, saņēma nelaipni, izskatījās paši savu rūpju nomākti... zēna piedzīvojumu kāre bija ātri izsīkusi, redzot, ka svešums visur apmēram vienādseverywhere strangers looked anxiously around, were unkind, looked worried about their own problems... the boy's thirst for (new) experiences had quickly been exhausted, seeing (= when he saw) that the foreignness was everywhere about the same
    viņu savstarpējās attiecībās beidzamajā laikā bija ieviesusies kaut kāda neuzticība, svešumslately, in their mutual relations, a certain distrust, (a) strangeness (= distance) had crept in
    svešums strap laulātajiem ar katru dienu auga lielāks... Valentīna bija kļuvusi pavisam apātiskaso, the foreignness (= distance) between the married couple grew every day bigger... Valentīna had become completely apathetic

Declension edit

Synonyms edit

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