stulbs
Latvian
Etymology
From Proto-Baltic *stulb-, a variant of *stilb- (whence also Latvian stilbs (“shin, shank”), from Proto-Indo-European *stl̥b-, an ablaut variant of *stelb (“post, pole, jamb”) (whence also stilbs, q.v.), from *stel- (“to put in a standing position, to erect; standing, immobile, stiff”) with an extra b. The semantic evolution was probably: “motionless, stiff” > “surprised, stunned” > “stupid”. Cognates include Lithuanian stul̃bis (“stupid person; old, bad horse”), stul̃bti, stùlbti (“to be stunned, dumbfounded; to become stiff with surprise or fear”), Proto-Slavic *stъlbъ (stŭlbŭ) (Russian столб (stolb, “post”)), Middle Low German stulpen (“to overthrow, to overturn, to topple”), German stolpern (“to stumble, to trip up”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [stùlps]
Adjective
stulbs (definite stulbais, comparative stulbāks, superlative visstulbākais, adverb stulbi)
- stupid, dumb (mentally challenged, not able to comprehend, to understand; also, foolish)
- stulbs kā zābaks ― stupid as a boot (i.e., very stupid)
- Valentīna ir līdz smieklīgumam stulba; viņas nejēdzīgās atbildes stundās izsauc klasē smieklu šaltis ― Valentīna is ridiculously stupid; her absurd answers caused bursts of laughter in the classroom
- es neesmu tik stulbs, lai nesaprastu, ka mani ļoti ļoti pieklājīgā veidā izraida ― I am not so stupid as not to understand that I am being thrown out in a very, very polite way
- stupid, dumb (expressing such qualities)
- stulbs skatiens ― stupid look, stare
- stulba rīcība ― stupid action, behavior
- stulbas kaprīzes ― stupid whims
- es no visa esmu ieguvis, pat no ļaunu ļaužu stulbā naida ― I've received (some) of everything, even (some) of the people's stupid hate
- (of actions, states) stupid (very undesirable, unwanted, inconvenient)
- rīt ir tā stulbā sapulce ― tomorrow is that stupid meeting
- “man tāds stulbs vārds,” viņš atzinās; “mani sauc... Krists... es pats tur neesmu vainīgs!” ― “I have such a stupid name,” he confessed; “I am... Krists... I am not responsible for that (name)!”
Declension
| masculine (vīriešu dzimte) | feminine (sieviešu dzimte) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | ||||||
| nominative (nominatīvs) | stulbs | stulbi | stulba | stulbas | |||||
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | stulbu | stulbus | stulbu | stulbas | |||||
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | stulba | stulbu | stulbas | stulbu | |||||
| dative (datīvs) | stulbam | stulbiem | stulbai | stulbām | |||||
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | stulbu | stulbiem | stulbu | stulbām | |||||
| locative (lokatīvs) | stulbā | stulbos | stulbā | stulbās | |||||
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | — | — | — | |||||
Synonyms
- bezjēdzīgs
- dumjš
- idiotisks
- muļķīgs
- neprātīgs
Antonyms
- gudrs
Derived terms
- stulbenis, stulbene
- stulbība
- stulbums
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “stulbs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN