kreilis
Latvian
![](Images/wiktionary/A_left-handed_woman_learns_calligraphy.jpg.webp)
Kreile
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *sker-, *ker-, *kr̥- (“to turn, to bend”), changed to Proto-Baltic *krei-, with a suffix -r, giving rise to an adjective *kreiras > *kreilas (compare archaic adjective krails (“bent, crooked”)) and a noun *kreiris. The meaning evolved from “bent, crooked” to “not strong, clumsy, weaker, less good,” hence “left (hand),” as opposed to the “good,” “able” right hand, and then to “left-hander.” Cognates include Lithuanian kairỹs (“left-hander”) ( < *krairys).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [kɾēīlis]
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Noun
kreilis m (2nd declension, feminine form: kreile)
- (male) left-hander, left-handed man (someone who is better with his left hand than with his right hand)
- kreiļi dod priekšroku kreisajai rokai un kājai ― left-handers give preference to (their) left hand and foot
Declension
Declension of kreilis (2nd declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | kreilis | kreiļi |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | kreili | kreiļus |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | kreiļa | kreiļu |
dative (datīvs) | kreilim | kreiļiem |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | kreili | kreiļiem |
locative (lokatīvs) | kreilī | kreiļos |
vocative (vokatīvs) | kreili | kreiļi |
Derived terms
- kreilība
Related terms
- kreiss
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “kreilis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN