dārgs

dārgs

See also: dargs

Latvian

Etymology

There are differing suggestions on the origin of this term, the most likely of which is to derive it from Proto-Indo-European *der-, *dor- (“to tear, to peel, to pluck, to slice”) (whence also dergties (“to feel disgusted”), q.v.), with an extra gʰ, from which Proto-Baltic *darg- > *dargs > dārgs (with lengthening from the intonation on -àr- > -ā̀r). The original meaning could have been “which got torn, became unpleasant” (compare Lithuanian dargùs (“disgusting, unpleasant”), Latvian derdzīgs (“hideous”)) > “unpleasantly high (price, reward)” > “expensive, having high value, valuable”, from which metaphorically “dear, beloved”. Note that the “beloved” meaning is relatively recent: it is not typical of old folkloric language. Other scholars, however, derive dārgs from Proto-Indo-European *dʰer- (“to hold, to prop, to support”). A third suggestion is that this stem is a Slavic innovation (with “dear, beloved” as the original meaning), from which it was borrowed into Baltic. Cognates include Proto-Slavic *dorgъ (“expensive, dear, beloved”) (Old Church Slavonic драгъ (dragŭ), Russian дорого́й (dorogój), Belarusian дарагі́ (darahí), Ukrainian дороги́й (dorohýj), Bulgarian драг (drag), Czech drahý, Polish drogi).[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [dàːɾɡs]

(file)

Adjective

dārgs (definite dārgais, comparative dārgāks, superlative visdārgākais, adverb dārgi)

1. expensive, costly (having a high price, for which one must pay very much)

   pārmērīgi dārgs ― prohibitively expensive

   cik dārgs? ― how expensive (is it)? how much does it cost?

   dārgs gredzens, tērps ― expensive ring, clothes

   dārgas kažokādas, konfektes ― expensive fur, candy

   dārga laboratorijas iekārta ― expensive laboratory equipment

   smēķēt dārgus cigārus ― to smoke expensive cigars

   dārgs dzīvoklis ― expensive apartment

2. expensive, costly (which takes a lot of money for its services, realization, maintenance)

   dārgs meistars, amatnieks ― expensive tradesman, artisan

   dārga dzīve ― expensive life

   dārgas izpriecas ― expensive, costly pleasures

3. dear, important, valuable, precious (having great significance, high value; being difficult to find)

   pasaules tautām miers ir dārgs ― peace is dear, important to the people of the world

   katrs ūdens piliens ir dārgs ― every drop of water is dear, important

   laiks, katrs bridis, mirklis ir dārgs ― time, every moment is dear, important

4. dear, cherished, precious, beloved (that about which one has strong feelings)

   dārgas atmiņas ― dear, cherished memories

   mans dārgais bērns ― my dear, beloved child

   dārgie viesi! ― dear guests!

   visdārgākais cilvēks ― most cherished, beloved person

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of dārgs

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	dārgs	dārgi		dārga	dārgas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	dārgu	dārgus		dārgu	dārgas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	dārga	dārgu		dārgas	dārgu
dative (datīvs)	dārgam	dārgiem		dārgai	dārgām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	dārgu	dārgiem		dārgu	dārgām
locative (lokatīvs)	dārgā	dārgos		dārgā	dārgās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Synonyms

• bagāts
• vērtīgs

Antonyms

• lēts
• nabags

Derived terms

• dārdzība
• dārgakmens
• dārgums

References

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