Latvian

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Ķemmēt matus

Etymology

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From ķemmē (comb), a borrowing from Low German, made into a second conjugation verb stem (ending -ēt). Alternatively, it may be a direct borrowing from Middle Low German [Term?] (cf. German kämmen (to comb)). First mentioned in 17th-century sources.[1]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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ķemmēt (transitive, 2nd conjugation, present ķemmēju, ķemmē, ķemmē, past ķemmēju)

  1. (of people's hair) to comb (to smooth with a comb)
    ķemmēt matusto comb (one's) hair
    ķemmēt pie spoguļa matusto comb one's hair by the mirror
    kandidāts bija nedaudz pāri labākajiem gadiem, vairākas dienas neķemmētiem pelēkiem matiemthe nominee was a little over his better years, with hair many days uncombed
  2. (of animal hair, fur) to comb (to smooth, also to clean, with a comb)
    ķemmēt sunito comb the dog
    ķemmēt zirgam krēpesto comb the mane of the horse
  3. (colloquial, especially military) to comb (to search thoroughly)
    fašisti gatavojās ķemmēt mežuthe fascists are preparing to comb the forest
    ciemā jau iet žandarmu ķēde, ķemmēdama māju pēc mājas; meklē vīriešusin the village a chain (= group) of gendarmes is going (around), combing house after house; they are looking for (certain) men

Conjugation

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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prefixed verbs:
other derived terms:
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References

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