baznīca

Borrowed from Old East Slavic божьница (božĭnica, “church, capel”), probably specifically from the dialectal form бозьница (bozĭnica) (compare Proto-Slavic *božьnica, Belarusian бажніца (bažnica, “shelf with icons; house of prayer”), ultimately from Proto-Slavic *bogъ (“god”) or *božьnъ (“divine”). The first vowel a (< *o) suggests that the borrowing occurred at some point in the 13th century, although the term itself is first mentioned only in the 16th century (as baznedce and baznice; the modern form baznīca is first attested in 17th-century sources).[1]

• IPA^(key): [baznìːtsa]

baznīca f (4th declension)

1. church (building used for worship by Christians)

   baznīcas zvans, tornis ― church bell, tower

   iet baznīcā ― to go to church

   es skatījos baznīcas baltajā tornī ― I looked at the white church tower

   netālajā Annas baznīcā sāka dūkt ērģeles... lauku draudze dziedāja beigu dziesmu ― in the nearby Anna church the organs began to play... the local congregation began to sing the last song

2. church (organization of Christian believers belonging to one denomination)

   luterāņu, katoļu, anglikāņu baznīca ― the Lutheran, the Catholic, the Anglican church

   pareizticīgo baznīca ― the Orthodox church

   kristīgās baznīcas vēsture ― the history of the Christian church

   katoļu baznīcas cīņa pret reformāciju ― the fight of the Catholic church against reformation

3. (usually singular) church (the set of religious groups and institutions in a country)

   šķirt baznīcu no valsts ― to separate church from state

• abatija
• kapela
• klosteris