zaldāts
Latvian
Etymology
Borrowed from German Soldat, itself a borrowing from Italian soldato, from Vulgar Latin solidatus (“salaried (soldier)”). The word was borrowed into German in the first half of the 16th century, and into Latvian probably between the end of the 16th and the beginning of the 17th century. Its first mentions are in 17th-century sources.[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [zāldāːts]
Noun
zaldāts m (1st declension)
- (dated) soldier (especially in the czar's or in the German army)
- (aiz)iet zaldātos ― to start military service (lit. to go to the soldiers)
- noņemt zaldātos ― to recruit (lit. to take into the soldiers' )
- zaldātu nauda ― soldier's money (historically, money paid to escape military duty)
- stāt kā zaldāts ― to stand like a soldier (i.e., perfectly upright)
- vecs Pirmā pasaules kara zaldāts ― an old World War I soldier
Usage notes
The words karavīrs and kareivis have mostly replaced zaldāts in contemporary usage.
Declension
Declension of zaldāts (1st declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | zaldāts | zaldāti |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | zaldātu | zaldātus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | zaldāta | zaldātu |
| dative (datīvs) | zaldātam | zaldātiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | zaldātu | zaldātiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | zaldātā | zaldātos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | zaldāts | zaldāti |
Synonyms
- karavīrs
- kareivis
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “zaldāts”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN