apavs
Latvian
[edit]
Etymology
[edit]From the same stem as the verb aut (“to put on (footwear)”): *ap-aw-as > apavs. The original meaning, probably “bandage,” “covering (cloth),” was already often connected to footwear in 17th- and 18th-century texts, though not obligatorily (cf. expressions like kāju apavs “foot apavs” in folk tales). Cognates include Lithuanian ãpavas, Russian обувь (obuvʹ), Czech obuv, Polish obuw.[1]
Pronunciation
[edit]Noun
[edit]apavs m (1st declension)
- footwear (shoes, boots, sandals, etc.)
- ādas, gumijas apavi ― leather, rubber footwear, shoes
- vasaras, ziemas apavi ― summer, winter fotwear, shoes
- viegli, smagi apavi ― light, heavy footwear, shoes
- mājas apavi ― home, indoor shoes, footwear
- labot apavus ― to mend, to repair shoes, fotwear
- kurpnieks novietoja kurpi uz plaukta blakus citiem labojamiem apaviem ― the cobbler placed the shoe on the shelf, next to the other footwear to be mended
- gaumīgi iekārtotajās veikala telpās vitrinās izvietotas dāždažādu lielumu, fasonu un krāsu kurpes un citi apavi ― in the indoor showcases of a tastefully decorated shop one places shoes and other footwear of various sizes, styles and colors
- un pēkšņi šķiet: ir apavs caurs ― and suddenly it seemed: the shoe has a hole
Usage notes
[edit]Latvian apavi is more frequently used than English footwear and is often better translated as shoes (cf. Russian обувь (obuvʹ)); the term kāja, usually "leg", "foot", is less frequently used as a synonym. Note also that the plural forms (apavi, etc.) are much more frequently used than the singular forms (apavs, etc.)
Declension
[edit]Declension of apavs (1st declension)
Synonyms
[edit]Derived terms
[edit]Related terms
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “apavs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN