leitis
See also: leitís
Latvian edit
Etymology edit
From *leit- (related to Latin lītus (“sea coast, beach”) < *leitos), from Proto-Baltic *lei-, *lie- with an extra -t, from Proto-Indo-European *ley-, *lī- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”). The stem was perhaps originally a reference to people from the "land of the rain" or "land of the rivers." It is also possible that there was an original river or lake name *Leitā, from which *leitā-tyā, *leityā > leiša, from which the nominative leitis could be derived.[1]
Pronunciation edit
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Noun edit
leitis m (2nd declension, feminine form: leitiete)
- a (male) Lithuanian
- strādnieki... kalpi, vai tie būtu vācieši, leiši, krievi, ebreji, mums draugi ― workers... servants, be they Germans, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, are friends to us
- (genitive plural): Lithuanian, pertaining to Lithuania and its people
- leišu valoda ― the Lithuanian language
- Aspazija pieraksta leišu sakāmvardus un mīklas ― Aspazija recorded Lithuanian proverbs and riddles
Usage notes edit
The basic, neutral term is lietuvietis. The words leitis and lietuvis are synonyms, but are much less often used, usually poetically, or in historical contexts (referring to ancient Lithuanians).
Declension edit
Declension of leitis (2nd declension)
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
References edit
- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “lietuvieši”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN