mikls

Latvian

Etymology

From an unattested verb *mikt (“to press, to hit”) (with an extra l), from Proto-Baltic *mik-, from Proto-Indo-European *mei-, *mi- (“to press, to hit”) (whence also Latvian miegt (“to squeeze”)) with an extra k. The semantic evolution was probably “hit, beaten, squeezed” > “made soft by hitting, squeezing” > “made soft (by other reasons, e.g. humidity)” > “humid, damp.” Cognates include Lithuanian mìklas, miklùs (“agile, nimble, flexible”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [mikls]
(file)

Adjective

mikls (definite miklais, comparative miklāks, superlative vismiklākais, adverb mikli)

  1. a little humid, moist, damp (having absorbed or containing some moisture, being covered by some moisture)
    miklas drēbes ― humid clothes
    mikls gaiss ― humid air
    mikls asfalts ― damp asphalt
    mikla piere ― moist, clammy forehead
    miklas bērzu lapas ― humid birch leaves
    tik gluda, mikla smilts un dzidrs ūdens ― such smooth, moist sand and (such) clear water
    es redzu, ka Rūdolfa Lejieša acis miklas ― I (can) see that Rūdolfs Lejiešs' eyes (are) humid (= he cried)
    spilvens rītos mikls no asarām, kuras plūst pašas kā atkusis ledus ― the pillow in the mornings (is) humid from the tears that flow like thawing ice
  2. humid, moist (containing a little more water vapor than usual)
    Pār Inesi pūta mikls vējš ― a moist wind blew over Inese
    bet klimats gan draņķīgs, tik mikls un auksts, ka to var izturēt vienīgi šie četrkājainie ― but the climate (is) really lousy, so humid and cold that only those four-legged ones (= sheep) can put up with it

Declension

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

References

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