valsts
Latvian edit
Alternative forms edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Balto-Slavic *walˀstís, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wolh₁dʰh₁-ti-s, from *h₂welh₁dʰh₁-, from *h₂welh₁- (“to rule”). Morphologically from valdīt (“to reign, to rule”) (*vald-tis > *valstis > valsts; compare dialectal form valdzs).
The original meaning was “power, domination”; by the 18th century, this had been changed to “parish, fief, administrative district”, with significant geographic variation well into the 19th century. Only in the 20th century did the current meaning become stable. Cognates include Lithuanian val̃sčius (“district, parish, township”) (< *vald-tius, dialectal val̃stis), valstýbė (“country, state”), Proto-Slavic *volstь (“possession”) from *volsti (“to reign, to rule”).[1]
Pronunciation edit
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Noun edit
valsts f (6th declension)
- state, country (a sovereign polity with a government; the territory of this polity)
- demokratiska, monarhiska valsts ― democratic, monarchic state
- valsts vara ― state power
- valsts teritorija ― country (lit. state territory)
- valsts galva ― head of state
- valsts pārvalde ― government (lit. state administration)
- valsts iekšējās lietas ― a country's internal affairs
- valsts iestāde ― public (lit. state) authority
- valsts budžets ― state budget
- valsts īpašums ― state property
- valsts monopols ― state monopoly
- valsts valoda ― official (lit. state) language
- valsts sekretārs, kanclers ― secretary, chancellor of state
- valsts drošība ― state security
- Baltijas valstis ― Baltic countries
- nepievienojušās valstis ― developing countries
- Amerikas Savienotās Valstis ― United States of America
- (taxonomy) kingdom (one of the highest divisions in the classification of living beings)
- augu valsts ― plant kingdom
- dzīvnieku valsts ― animal kingdom
Declension edit
Declension of valsts (6th declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | valsts | valstis |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | valsti | valstis |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | valsts | valstu |
| dative (datīvs) | valstij | valstīm |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | valsti | valstīm |
| locative (lokatīvs) | valstī | valstīs |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | valsts | valstis |
Derived terms edit
References edit
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “valsts”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN