veļi
See also: Appendix:Variations of "veli"
Latvian edit
Etymology edit
From Proto-Baltic *welias, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“tear; pluck; rob; hurt; kill”). Cognates include Lithuanian vẽlės, vė̃lės (singular vėlė̃, velė̃; compare also veliónis (“dead”)), Proto-Germanic *walaz (“dead”) (Old Norse valr (“fallen in the battlefield”), Valhǫll (“abode of fallen warriors”), valkyrja (“Valkyrie”) (i.e., those who led the dead warriors to Odin), Old High German wal (“battlefield”)), Tocharian A wäl (“to die”), walu (“dead one”).[1]
Noun edit
veļi m (2nd declension)
- (mythology, poetic, usually in the plural) soul of the dead; ghost
- veļu valstība, valsts ― the realm of the dead
- veļu kults ― cult of the dead
- veļu laiks ― time of the dead (time in October when the dead return to visit their descendants)
- aiziet veļos ― to go to the dead (i.e., to die)
Usage notes edit
There is a singular form velis, sporadically attested.
Declension edit
Declension of veļi (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | — | veļi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | — | veļus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | — | veļu |
| dative (datīvs) | — | veļiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | — | veļiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | — | veļos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | veļi |
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit
References edit
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “veļi”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN