latvietis
Latvian
Etymology
From latvis (“Latvian”) + -ietis. This term had in principle replaced latvis as the autodenomication of the Latvians already in the 19th century, but the latter was reintroduced via poetry and continues to exist as a poetic term.[1]
Noun
latvietis m (2nd declension, feminine form: latviete)
- a (male) Latvian, a Lett
- (genitive plural): Latvian, pertaining to Latvia and its people
- latviešu valoda ― the Latvian language
Usage notes
The word latvis is a synonym of latvietis, but it is less frequently used, and more often than not refers to ancient Latvians, or Latvians as an ethnic group.
Declension
Declension of latvietis (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | latvietis | latvieši |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | latvieti | latviešus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | latvieša | latviešu |
| dative (datīvs) | latvietim | latviešiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | latvieti | latviešiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | latvietī | latviešos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | latvieti | latvieši |
Synonyms
- latvis
Related terms
- latviešu valoda, latvju valoda
- latvisks
- Latvija, Latve
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “latvietis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN