skuķis
Latvian
Etymology
From skust (“to scratch, to scrape”), a dialectal variant of skūt (“to shave”): a derived form *skutis > *skuķis (compare with *katis > kaķis (“cat”)), probably generalized from Courland dialects. The original meaning was “that which scratches, scrapes,” probably referring at first to ticks or lice, then later to children (probably because of their small size; in some dialects, it can still refer to boys), and finally “girl.” The masculine form is older, possibly from an earlier neuter; the feminine form skuķe is more recent.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [skucis]
Noun
skuķis m (2nd declension)
- (colloquial) girl, young woman
- Brekšiem bija trīs bērni: Jūle, prāvs skuķis, jau gana vecumā, Dāvis un Rūdis ― the Brekšs had three children: Jūle, a big girl, already quite old, Dāvis and Rūdis
- Andreja sieva vairākkārt nosauca pakaļ savam skuķim, lai nesabrien kurpītes ― Andrejs' wife went many times to call her girl, so that she wouldn't get her little shoes wet
- priekšā iznāca meitene zaļā tērpā un kurpēs ar neticami augstiem papēžiem... “velna skuķis!” viņš nogrozīja galvu; “kā viņa dzied un kā skatās!” ― forward came a young woman in a green dress and shoes with incredibly high heels... “darn girl!” he shook his head; “she sings and looks so great!”
- (colloquial) young woman who does not lead a decent life, who is slutty, or a possible criminal
Declension
Declension of skuķis (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | skuķis | skuķi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | skuķi | skuķus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | skuķa | skuķu |
| dative (datīvs) | skuķim | skuķiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | skuķi | skuķiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | skuķī | skuķos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | skuķi | skuķi |
Synonyms
- (of "girl"): meitene, meitenīte, skuķēns
- (of "young, unmarried woman"): meita, meitene, skuķe
Antonyms
- (of "girl"): zēns, zeņķis, puika, puisēns, puisītis
- (of "young, unmarried woman"): zēns, puika, puisis
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “skuķis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN