milzis
Latvian
FWOTD – 9 January 2014
Milzis (1)
Etymology
Derived from the verb milzt (“to swell, to grow, to increase”), present tense melzu, from Proto-Baltic *melž-, *milž-, from Proto-Indo-European *melǵʰ, *ml̥ǵʰ-, from a stem *mel- (“big, strong”), whence also Latvian dialectal milns (“many, much, a lot”), Ancient Greek μάλα (mála, “very, a lot”), perhaps Latin melior (“better”). Cognates include Lithuanian mil̃žinas.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [mîlzis]
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Noun
milzis m (2nd declension, feminine form: milze)
- (folklore, mythology) giant (very large, supernaturally strong being)
- ļauns milzis ― evil giant
- milža spēks ― a giant's strength
- milžu cīņa ― fight, clash of giants
- milzis skatījās uz puiku kā suns uz skudru, kura rāpo viņam starp izstieptām ķepām ― the giant looked at the boy like a dog at an ant that crawls between his outstretched legs
- giant (very large person, animal or plant)
- vislielākais milzis bijis 2,8 metru augumā ― the largest giant was 2.8 meters tall
- ozols bija īsts milzis ― the oak was a real giant
- vilku milzis ― giant wolf, wolf giant
- (figuratively) giant (extraordinarily talented person, above others in the same field of activity)
- gara milzis ― artistic (lit. spiritual) giant (= outstanding artist)
- Mēdeja - viens no sarežģītākajiem sieviešu tēliem... antīkās dramaturģijas milža Eiripīda traģēdijā ― Medea is one of the most complex female characters... in the tragedy by Euripides, the giant of ancient dramaturgy
- sevišķi tuvas attiecības Čehovam izveidojas ar Maksimu Gorkiju, Ļevu Tolstoju un citiem tā laika gara milžiem ― Tchekov estrablished especially close relations with Maksim Gorki, Lev Tolstoy and other contemporary spiritual giants
- giant (a very large object, building, mountain, etc.)
- Āfrikas milzis Kilimandžāro ― Kilimanjaro, the giant of Africa
- kombināts nodrošina ar sērskābi visas Bulgārijas rūpniecības nozares... šo rūpniecības milzi uzcēla vienā gadā ― the plant will provide the whole Bulgarian industrial sector with sulphuric acid... this industrial giant was built in one year
- (astronomy) giant (very large star with high absolute luminosity)
- sarkanie milži ― red giants
Declension
Declension of milzis (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | milzis | milži |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | milzi | milžus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | milža | milžu |
| dative (datīvs) | milzim | milžiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | milzi | milžiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | milzī | milžos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | milzi | milži |
Synonyms
- (of "large mythical being"): gigants
- (of "very large person"): milzenis, gigants
Antonyms
- (of "large mythical being"): rūķis
- (of "very large person"): punduris
- (of "very large star"): punduris, pundurzvaigzne
Derived terms
- milzenis, milzene
- milzīgs, milzīgums
Related terms
- milzt
- milzu, milzum, milzums
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “milzis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN