Latvian

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Putna spārni (1)
 
Lidmašīnas spārns (2)
 
Velosipēda dakšas spārni (3)
 
Ēkas spārni (4)

Etymology

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From Proto-Baltic *sparnas (with lengthening of the *a), from Proto-Indo-European *sper-no- (wing), from the stem *per-, *sper- (with s-mobile; or else the /s/ may result from the influence of the stem *sper- (to twitch, to flicker)), perhaps meaning originally “over (away from)”, then “carry (away)”, “fly (away)”. Cognates include Lithuanian spar̃nas, Old Church Slavonic перо (pero, feather), Russian перо́ (peró), Ukrainian перо́ (peró), Bulgarian перо́ (peró), Upper Sorbian pjero, German Farn, English fern, Hittite [script needed] (partau̯ar, feather), Sanskrit पर्ण (parṇá, feather; leaf).[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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spārns m (1st declension)

  1. (anatomy, of birds, insects, bats) wing (one of a pair of flight organs)
    putna, tauriņa, sienāža spārnsa bird's, butterfly's, grasshopper's wing
    izplest spārnusto open, spread one's wings
    sakļaust spārnusto close one's wings
    spārnu vēzieniwingbeats
  2. wing (plate-like appendage in a large machine that interacts with the environment (e.g., air, water))
    lidmašīnas spārnsairplane wing
    kuģa dzenskrūves spārniship propeller wings
  3. plaque-like elongated element or part in a machine
    velosidpēda dakšas spārnibicycle fork prongs (lit. wings)
  4. wing (lateral part or extension of a building)
    no vienas ēkas spārna uz otrufrom one wing of the building to the other
    labajā spārnā atrodas bibliotēkathe library is situated in the right wing
  5. (military) flank
    pulkvedis ar savu adjutantu piejāja līdz pozīcijas labajam spārnamthe colonel and his aide rode up to (their) position's right flank
  6. wing (a group of people, within a larger group)
    filozofijas skolas radikālais spārnsthe radical wing of the philosophical school

Declension

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References

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