apavs
Latvian
Apavi
Etymology
From the same stem as the verb aut (“to put on (footwear)”): *ap-aw-as > apavs. The original meaning, probably “bandage,” “covering (cloth),” was already often connected to footwear in 17th- and 18th-century texts, though not obligatorily (cf. expressions like kāju apavs “foot apavs” in folk tales). Cognates include Lithuanian ãpavas, Russian обувь (obuvʹ), Czech obuv, Polish obuw.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [apaws]
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Noun
apavs m (1st declension)
- footwear (shoes, boots, sandals, etc.)
- ādas, gumijas apavi ― leather, rubber footwear, shoes
- vasaras, ziemas apavi ― summer, winter fotwear, shoes
- viegli, smagi apavi ― light, heavy footwear, shoes
- mājas apavi ― home, indoor shoes, footwear
- labot apavus ― to mend, to repair shoes, fotwear
- kurpnieks novietoja kurpi uz plaukta blakus citiem labojamiem apaviem ― the cobbler placed the shoe on the shelf, next to the other footwear to be mended
- gaumīgi iekārtotajās veikala telpās vitrinās izvietotas dāždažādu lielumu, fasonu un krāsu kurpes un citi apavi ― in the indoor showcases of a tastefully decorated shop one places shoes and other footwear of various sizes, styles and colors
- un pēkšņi šķiet: ir apavs caurs ― and suddenly it seemed: the shoe has a hole
Usage notes
Latvian apavi is more frequently used than English footwear and is often better translated as shoes (cf. Russian обувь (obuvʹ)); the term kāja, usually "leg", "foot", is less frequently used as a synonym. Note also that the plural forms (apavi, etc.) are much more frequently used than the singular forms (apavs, etc.)
Declension
Declension of apavs (1st declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | apavs | apavi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | apavu | apavus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | apava | apavu |
| dative (datīvs) | apavam | apaviem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | apavu | apaviem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | apavā | apavos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | apav | apavi |
Synonyms
- kāja
Derived terms
- apavnieks
- apavu lāpstiņa f
Related terms
- aut
See also
- čība
- kurpe
- pastala
- zābaks
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “apavs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN