vālodze
Latvian
Alternative forms
(dialectal forms) valodze, vālūdze
Etymology
The origin of this word is unclear. Some link it to Polish wolać (“to call, to cry, to shout”), and sometimes even further to Latvian valoda (“language”) (q.v.). Others, given the existence of Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic reflexes, reconstruct it to Proto-Indo-European. The most likely connection is perhaps with the adjective valgs (“humid”), since this bird is traditionally considered to announce the coming of rain; in this case, one might propose that vālodze comes from *vālange, a metathesized version of *vālgande; cf. the placename lang]lv. Cognates include Lithuanian volungė̃, vólungė, Proto-Slavic *vьlga (Russian иволга (ívolga), Belarusian івалга (ívalga), Ukrainian іволга (ívolga), иволга (yvólga), Bulgarian авлига (avlíga), Czech vlha, Polish wilga, wywilga), Middle High German witewal, English whitwall (“bird sp.”), Avestan vārə(n)gan (“bird sp.”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA: [vāːluôdzɛ]
Noun
vālodze f, 5th declension
- oriole (various colorful birds of the family Oriolidae, especially Oriolus oriolus)
- vālodzes dzīvo jauktos vai lapu koku mežos — orioles live in mixed or deciduous forests
- vālodze ilgi vēl raudās sausās un tveicīgās dienās, līdz beidzot nāks atveldzinātājs lietus — the oriole will cry for a long time in the hot, dry days, until finally the refreshing rain comes
Declension
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | vālodze | vālodzes |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | vālodzi | vālodzes |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | vālodzes | vālodžu |
| dative (datīvs) | vālodzei | vālodzēm |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | vālodzi | vālodzēm |
| locative (lokatīvs) | vālodzē | vālodzēs |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | vālodze | vālodzes |
References
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns. 1992, 2001. Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca. Rīga: AVOTS. ISBN 9984700127.