Latvian edit

 
Dusēt

Etymology edit

Originally the iterative form of dust (to feel shortness of breath) (still dialectally attested), from Proto-Baltic *dus-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰus-, *dʰūs-, *dʰwes- (to blow), whence also Latvian dvest (to breathe). The original meaning of dusēt was thus “to breathe heavily” (still visible in the related term aizdusa (shortness of breath)) from which “to breathe audibly” > “to breathe deeply (as in sleep)” > “to sleep”.

Cognates include Lithuanian dùsti (to run out of breath; to choke, to stifle), dusė́ti (to breathe heavily; to sob), Old Church Slavonic дꙑхати (dyxati, to breathe, to blow), Russian дыша́ть (dyšátʹ, to breathe), Belarusian ды́хаць (dýxacʹ), Ukrainian ди́хати (dýxaty), Bulgarian ди́шам (díšam), Czech dychati, Polish dychać.[1]

Pronunciation edit

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Verb edit

dusēt (intransitive, 3rd conjugation, present dusu, dusi, dus, past dusēju)

  1. (poetic) to sleep; to rest
    mierīgi, saldi dusētto sleep peacefully, sweetly
    dusi saldi!sleep well! (lit. sweetly)
    dusošā skaistulesleeping beauty
    dusēt, gulēt kā mātes klēpīto sleep as if on (one's) mother's lap
    mazu brīdi pēc Annužas aiziešanas Liena sēdēja pie dusošas meitiņas šūpuļashortly after Annuža's departure Liena was sitting by the cradle of the little sleeping girl
    mēs nenākam dusēt, nedz atvaļu ņemtwe did not come to sleep or to take holidays
  2. (figuratively) to be dead, to rest
    brāļu kapi... šeit dus tie, kas nolika galvu par mūsu dzimtenibrethren cemetery... here rest those who gave (their) lives (lit. rested their heads) for our fatherland
    dusi, manu puisīt, lielajā varoņu pulkā! jūs esat krituši par nākotni, par sabiedrību, kurā karš vairs nebūtu iespējamssleep, dear boy, in a regiment of great heroes! you have fallen for the future, for a society in which war will no longer be possible

Conjugation edit

Synonyms edit

Related terms edit

See also edit

References edit

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