Latvian edit

Etymology edit

From ciets (hard, solid) +‎ -ums.

Noun edit

cietums m (1st declension)

  1. prison (government institution where people are kept before trial, or while serving their sentences after trial)
    ieslodzīt cietumāto lock (someone) up in prison
    cietuma kameraprison cell
  2. (figuratively) prison (place where freedom of movement is limited, where living conditions are difficult)
    cariskā Krievija ir tautu cietumsczarist Russia is the prison of peoples, nations
  3. (chiefly in the singular) hardness, solidity, thickness (the quality of that which is hard, solid)
    vielas cietumsthe hardness of a substance
    fizikāla ķermeņa cietumsthe hardness of a physical body
    granīta cietumsthe hardness of granite
    matu īpašības, piemēram, to cietums un rupjums, zināmā mērā ir atkarīgas no iedzimtībashair properties, for instance, its thickness and roughness, are to a certain extent dependent on heredity
  4. hard spot, lump (in the human body)
    cietums delnāa hard spot, lump on the palm of the hand
    zemādas cietumisubcutaneous lumps, hard spots
  5. (chiefly singular; of water) hardness (the quality of containing salts of calcium or magnesium)
    samazināt ūdens cietumuto reduce the hardness of the water

Declension edit

Related terms edit