slepkava
See also: slepkavā
Latvian
Etymology
An old compound, from the stem of slepens (“secret”) or slepus (“secretly, stealthily”), and the stem of kaut (“to slaughter, to kill in battle”), nominalized in the sense of 'slaughterer', 'killer'.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [slæpkava]
Noun
slepkava m or f (4th declension)
- killer, murderer (a person who has committed murder, who has illegally killed someone)
- pēc nožņaugšanas slepkava atstājis līķi turpat ratos ― after strangulation the murderer left a dead body right there, in the horse-drawn carriage
- redzot, ka esesietis nošauj cilvēku no koncentrācijas nometnes, kautrīgais, bērnišķīgais Vīze naidā metas uz slepkavu ― seeing that the SS's shot people from the concentration camp, the shy, childish Vīze in hatred threw himself on the murderer
- (by extension) a hitman
Usage notes
The term slepkava is ambigenous. It is masculine when it refers to males and feminine when it refers to females. It is, however, always declined as a feminine noun, with the exception of its dative singular form, which is slepkavam when it refers to a male and slepkavai when it refers to a female.
Declension
Declension of slepkava (4th declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | slepkava | slepkavas |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | slepkavu | slepkavas |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | slepkavas | slepkavu |
| dative (datīvs) | slepkavam, slepkavai | slepkavām |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | slepkavu | slepkavām |
| locative (lokatīvs) | slepkavā | slepkavās |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | slepkava | slepkavas |
Derived terms
- slepkavība
- slepkavīgs
- slepkavot
Related terms
- slepens
- slēpt
- slepus, slēpu
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “slepkava”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN