veļi
See also: veli, Veli, and vēli
Latvian
Etymology
From Proto-Baltic *weli̯a-, *weli̯ā-, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“tear; pluck; rob; hurt; kill”). Cognates include Lithuanian vẽlės, vė̃lės (singular vėlė̃, velė̃; compare also veliónis (“dead”)), Proto-Germanic *wala- (“dead”) (Old Norse valr (“fallen in the battlefield”), valhǫll (“abode of fallen warriors”), valkyrja (“Valkyrie”) (i.e., those who led the dead warriors to Odin), Old High German wal (“battlefield”)), Tocharian A wäl (“to die”), walu (“dead one”).[1]
Noun
veļi m (2nd declension)
- (mythology, poetic, usually in the plural) soul of the dead; ghost
- veļu valstība, valsts ― the realm of the dead
- veļu kults ― cult of the dead
- veļu laiks ― time of the dead (time in October when the dead return to visit their descendants)
- aiziet veļos ― to go to the dead (i.e., to die)
Usage notes
There is a singular form velis, sporadically attested.
Declension
Declension of veļi (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | — | veļi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | — | veļus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | — | veļu |
| dative (datīvs) | — | veļiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | — | veļiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | — | veļos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | veļi |
Derived terms
- veļu māte
- veļu mēnesis
Related terms
- velns
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “veļi”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN