caur

Latvian

Etymology

From the adverb cauri, from the same stem as the adjective caurs (“having a hole”) (q.v.).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tsāūɾ]

• Audio:

  (file)

Preposition

caur (with accusative)

1. through (indicating movement through something else)

   jāt caur mežu ― to ride through the forest

   līst caur žogu ― to sneak through the fence

   saule iespīdēja caur logu ― the sun shone through the window

   elpot caur degunu, caur muti ― to breathe through the nose, through the mouth

2. through (simultaneously with, alternating with)

   smaidīt caur asarām ― to smile through the tears

   viņi runāja cits caur citu ― they talked through each other (= at the same time)

3. through, via (with someone's help or participation)

   saņemt ziņas caur tēvu ― to receive news through / via (one's) father

Derived terms

• caurredzams, caurredzamība
• caurspīdīgs, caurspīdīgums, caurspīdība
• caurums

Related terms

• cauri
• caurs

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kawaros, cognate with the Germanic tribal name Charudes.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kau̯r/

Noun

caur m (genitive caurad, nominative plural cauraid)

1. hero, warrior
   • c. 1100, Táin Bó Cúailnge (Strachan 1944, p 6):

     Luid Conchobar íarum ⁊ cóeca cairptech imbi do neoch ba ṡruithem ⁊ ba airegdam inna caurad.

     Then he set off together and fifty chariot-warriors around him, from anyone who was the noblest and most illustrious of the heroes.

Declension

Masculine t-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	caur	cauraidL, caur	cauraid
Vocative	caur	cauraidL, caur	caurta
Accusative	cauraidN	cauraidL, caur	caurta
Genitive	caurad	caurad	cauradN
Dative	cauraidL	caurtaib	caurtaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: cur
  • Irish: curadh

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
caur	chaur	caur pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “caur”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009) “kawaro-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 196
• Strachan, John, ed. (1944), Stories from the Táin. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy.

Scots

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic ceàrr (“wrong, incorrect, immoral, astray; left”), from Old Irish cerr (“crooked, wry, maimed”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɑːr], [kɔːr]
• (Northern Scots) IPA^(key): [kaːr], [keːr], [kɛr]

Adjective

caur (not comparable)

1. left, left-handed
2. awkward

Synonyms

• caurie

Derived terms

• caur-haundit (“left-handed”)

Etymology 2

From Middle English carre, from Anglo-Norman carre, from Latin carra, neuter plural of carrus (“four-wheeled baggage wagon”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɑːr], [kɔːr]
• (Northern Scots, Insular Scots) IPA^(key): [kaːr]

Noun

caur (plural caurs)

1. car

Derived terms

• motorcaur (“motorcar”)
• tramcaur (“tramcar”)
• (Ulster) trottle-caur (“a low vehicle for moving hay”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [kɑːr], [kɔːr]
• (Northern Scots, Insular Scots) IPA^(key): [kaːr]

Noun

caur

1. plural of cauf