Latvian

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Etymology

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Originally the verbalized form of an old noun pelns (cf. nopelns (merit)), from Proto-Baltic *pel-na-s, from Proto-Indo-European *pel- (to sell, to earn). Cognates include Lithuanian pelnýti, Proto-Slavic *pelnъ “booty” (Old Church Slavonic плѣнъ (plěnŭ), Russian поло́н (polón)), Ancient Greek πωλέω (pōléō, to sell)[1]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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pelnīt (transitive, 2nd/3rd conjugation, present pelnīju, pelnī, pelnī / pelnu, pelni, pelna, past pelnīju)

  1. to be paid, to earn (to receive payment for work, for doing something)
    pelnīt lielu nauduto earn a lot of money
    pelnīt maizi, iztikuto earn bread, a livelihood
    cik viņš pelna mēnesī?how much does he earn per month?
    viņš jau strādāja un pelnījahe was already working and being paid
    Krišus pelnīja piecdesmit kapeiku dienā, un no viņa algas vajadzēja iztikt mātei un abiem brāļiemKrišus earned fifty kopeks per day, and from his pay his mother and his two brothers had to live
    Mintauts labi pelna, viņš noteikti ir arī šo to iekrājisMintauts earns well, he also certainly (managed to) save some (money)
  2. to earn, to deserve (to be such that one should receive, e.g., recognition, praise, blame, guilt, etc.)
    pelnīt rājienu, pērienuto deserve, to earn a reprimand, a beating
    pelnīt pieciniekuto deserve, to earn an A (lit. 5) grades
    tas pelna ievērību, nosodījumuthis deserves attention, condemnation
    māte ir pelnījusi cieņu un mīlestībumother deserves respect and love
    viņš to nav pelnījishe hasn't earned, doesn't deserve that
    ko pelnījis, to dabūjishe got what he earned, deserved

Usage notes

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Even though pelnīt can in principle be a 2nd-conjugation (pelnīju) or a 3rd-conjugation (pelnu) verb, its 3rd-conjugation forms are much more frequent. In certain cases, the 2nd-conjugation forms are even apparently not used at all (e.g., the adjectival present active participle 1 is attested as pelnošs, not pelnījošs, and the present passive participle as pelnāms, not pelnījams).

Conjugation

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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) “pelnīt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN