Lietuva

See also: Lietuvą, and Lietuvā

Latvian

Lietuva (Eiropā)

Lietuvas karogs

Etymology

From the same stem as leitis (“Lithuanian”) (q.v.): *leit-, from which also liet (“to pour”), lietus (“rain”)) (q.v.). First mentioned in Annals of Quedlinburg as (Litua, from an earlier *Lētuvā, apparently from *leit- with a suffix (perhaps +‎ -uve). Cognates include Lithuanian Lietuvà. More information at Name of Lithuania.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈliɛtuva/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Lietuva f (4th declension)

1. Lithuania (a country in Baltic, Europe; capital: Vilnius)

   Lietuvas karogs ― the flag of Lithuania

   Lietuvas teritorija ― the territory of Lithuania

   Lietuva ir valsts Baltijas jūras austrumu krastā ― Lithuania is a country on the eastern coast of the Baltic sea

Declension

Declension of Lietuva (4th declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	Lietuva	—
accusative (akuzatīvs)	Lietuvu	—
genitive (ģenitīvs)	Lietuvas	—
dative (datīvs)	Lietuvai	—
instrumental (instrumentālis)	Lietuvu	—
locative (lokatīvs)	Lietuvā	—
vocative (vokatīvs)	Lietuva	—

Synonyms

• Lietuvas Republika

Related terms

• leitis, leitiete
• lietuvietis, lietuviete
• lietuvis, lietuve
• lietuvisks
• lietuviešu valoda, leišu valoda

See also

• (countries of Europe) Eiropas valstis; Albānija, Andora, Apvienotā Karaliste, Armēnija, Austrija, Azerbaidžāna, Baltkrievija, Beļģija, Bosnija un Hercegovina, Bulgārija, Čehija, Dānija, Francija, Grieķija, Gruzija, Horvātija, Igaunija, Islande/Īslande, Itālija, Īrija, Kazahstāna, Kipra, Krievija, Latvija, Lietuva, Lihtenšteina, Luksemburga, Malta, Melnkalne, Moldova, Monako, Nīderlande, Norvēģija, Polija, Portugāle, Rumānija, Sanmarīno, Serbija, Slovākija, Slovēnija, Somija, Spānija, Šveice, Turcija, Ukraina, Ungārija, Vatikāns, Vācija, Ziemeļmaķedonija, Zviedrija ^{(Category: lv:Countries in Europe)}

Lithuanian

Etymology

From an earlier *Lētuvā, possibly from an earlier *Lietā or *Lētā with the suffix +‎ -uva, denoting a region (see Sūduva, *Jotuva (“region of the Yotvingians”)).

Further etymology uncertain and debated, with several proposed etymologies:

• Most commonly, believed to have originated from the rivulet Lietauka from Old Lithuanian *Lietavà. Its etymology is unclear, but the root liet- likely comes from Proto-Balto-Slavic *l(e/o)ʔi-, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ley- (“to flow, pour, stream; to glide, slip, be slippery”), and is cognate with lietus (“rain”), lieti (“to pour”). It is an 11-kilometer-long rivulet in central Lithuania. According to Kazimieras Kuzavinis, this rivulet may have given its name to the surrounding territory, which includes nearby Kernavė, a medieval capital of Lithuania, and gradually expanded to become a name for the medieval Lithuanian state.
• According to Jan Otrębski, from an old name of the Neman river, *Leitā, attested in Alytus, from Old Lithuanian *Leitā (“city on the Leita river”).
• According to Simas Karaliūnas, from Old Lithuanian *lietā (“army, armed force”), from lieti (“to cast metal”), ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ley- (“to flow, pour”).
• According to Artūras Dubonis, from leitis (“member of a social group in service of the monarch in Medieval Lithuania”).

Popular etymologies connect it with lietus (“rain”).

Compare Samogitian Lietova.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /lʲiətʊˈvɐ/

Proper noun

Lietuvà f (uncountable, related adjective lietùviškas, demonym lietùvis, female demonym lietùvė) stress pattern 3a

1. Lithuania (a country in Baltic, Europe; official name: Lietuvõs Respùblika; capital: Vilnius)

Declension

    Declension of Lietuvà

nominative	Lietuvà
genitive	Lietuvõs
dative	Líetuvai
accusative	Líetuvą
instrumental	Líetuva
locative	Lietuvojè
vocative	Líetuva

Derived terms

nouns

• Didžióji Lietuvà
• lietuvýbė
• lietùvininkas
• LR
• Mažóji Lietuvà

 

Related terms

adjective

• lietuviakal̃bis

 

verbs

• lietuvė́ti
• lietùvinti
• sulietuvė́ti
• sulietùvinti

 

nouns

• dìdlietuvis
• jaunalietvùis
• lietuviakal̃bis
• lietuváitis
• mãžlietuvis
• naujãlietuvis

 

Descendants

• → Georgian: ლიეტუვა (lieṭuva)

See also

• lituanìstas
• lituanìstika
• lituanìstinis
• lituanìzmas
• lituãnika

 

• (countries of Europe) Europos šalys; Airija, Albanija, Andora, Armėnija, Austrija, Azerbaidžanas, Baltarusija, Belgija, Bosnija ir Hercegovina, Bulgarija, Čekija, Danija, Estija, Graikija, Gruzija, Gudija, Islandija, Ispanija, Italija, Jungtinė Karalystė, Juodkalnija, Kazachstanas, Kipras, Kroatija, Latvija, Lenkija, Lichtenšteinas, Lietuva, Liuksemburgas, Makedonija, Malta, Moldavija, Monakas, Nyderlandai, Norvegija, Portugalija, Prancūzija, Rumunija, Rusija, San Marinas, Serbija, Slovakija, Slovėnija, Suomija, Švedija, Šveicarija, Turkija, Ukraina, Vatikanas, Vengrija, Vokietija

Further reading

• Lietuvos vardas (Name of Lithuania) in Visuotinė lietuvių enciklopedija (Universal Lithuanian Encyclopedia)
• Kuzavinis K., Lietuvos vardo kilmė // Lietuvos TSR aukštųjų mokyklų darbai. Kalbotyra, t. 10 (1964), p. 5−18, t. 17 (1967), p. 135−137.
• Dubonis, Artūras (1998). Lietuvos didžiojo kunigaikščio leičiai: iš Lietuvos ankstyvųjų valstybinių struktūrų praeities (in Lithuanian). Vilnius: Lietuvos istorijos instituto leidykla. p. 15.

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

• (Kautokeino) IPA^(key): /ˈlie̯tuːva/

Proper noun

Lietuva

1. Lithuania (a country in Baltic, Europe; capital: Vilnius)

Declension

Even a-stem, no gradation
Nominative	Lietuva
Genitive	Lietuva
	Singular	Plural
Nominative	Lietuva	—
Accusative	Lietuva	—
Genitive	Lietuva	—
Illative	Lietuvii	—
Locative	Lietuvas	—
Comitative	Lietuvain	—
Essive	Lietuvan
Possessive forms Singular Dual Plural 1st person Lietuvan Lietuvame Lietuvamet 2nd person Lietuvat Lietuvade Lietuvadet 3rd person Lietuvas Lietuvaska Lietuvaset

Further reading

• Koponen, Eino, Ruppel, Klaas, Aapala, Kirsti, editors (2002–2008), Álgu database: Etymological database of the Saami languages‎^[2], Helsinki: Research Institute for the Languages of Finland