leitis

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See also: leitís

Latvian

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Etymology

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From *leit- (related to Latin lītus (sea coast, beach) < *leitos), from Proto-Baltic *lei-, *lie- with an extra -t, from Proto-Indo-European *ley-, *lī- (to pour, to flow, to drip). The stem was perhaps originally a reference to people from the "land of the rain" or "land of the rivers." It is also possible that there was an original river or lake name *Leitā, from which *leitā-tyā, *leityā > leiša, from which the nominative leitis could be derived.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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leitis m (2nd declension, feminine form: leitiete)

  1. a (male) Lithuanian
    strādnieki... kalpi, vai tie būtu vācieši, leiši, krievi, ebreji, mums draugiworkers... servants, be they Germans, Lithuanians, Russians, Jews, are friends to us
  2. (genitive plural): Lithuanian, pertaining to Lithuania and its people
    leišu valodathe Lithuanian language
    Aspazija pieraksta leišu sakāmvardus un mīklasAspazija recorded Lithuanian proverbs and riddles

Usage notes

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The basic, neutral term is lietuvietis. The words leitis and lietuvis are synonyms, but are much less often used, usually poetically, or in historical contexts (referring to ancient Lithuanians).

Declension

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Synonyms

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References

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