cilvēks

Latvian

Cilvēki

Etymology

Borrowed from Old East Slavic человѣкъ (čelověkŭ) (cf. Russian челове́к (čelovék), from Proto-Slavic *čelověkъ, from earlier *kelověkъ). The word vīrs (“man, male”) had previously been used to mean also “human being,” given the loss of a previous specific term (cf. Lithuanian žmogùs, Latin homo); this polysemy may have motivated the borrowing.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [tsìlvæ̀ːks]
  • IPA(key): [tsìɫvæ̀ːks]
  • (file)

Noun

cilvēks m (1st declension)

  1. person, human being (a member of the Homo sapiens species, capable of thinking and speaking)
    labs, jauns, jautrs cilvēks ― good, young, playful person
    gudrs cilvēks ― wise person
    noslēgts cilvēks ― reserved, reticent person
    cilvēka izcelšanās ― the origin of man (lit. person)
    cilvēka attīstība ― human (lit. person's) development
    cilvēka cieņa ― human (lit. person's) dignity
    cilvēku sabiedrība ― human (lit. people's) society
    precēts cilvēks ― a married person (usually a man)
    ģimenes cilvēks ― a family person (usually a man)
    mieras cilvēks ― a peaceful (lit. of peace) person
  2. (good) person (one who is not insensitive, who is kindhearted, helpful)
    tie bija cilvēki, tur bērns varēja dzīvot ― those were (good) people, there (= with them) a child could live
  3. (in plural) people (an undefined group of men and/or women)
    uz ielas cilvēku pūlis ― on the street (there was) a crowd of people
    ē, puiši! ē, meitas! ē, cilvēki! palīgā, palīgā! ― hey, guys! hey, girls! hey, people! help, help!

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

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