čakls
Latvian
Alternative forms
- (dialectal form) čekls
Etymology
Derived from an obsolete verb tekt (“to rush, to run, to flow”), from Proto-Indo-European *tekʷ- (“to run, to flow”), whence also tecēt (“to flow”); the meaning changed from “moving quickly” to “working hard.” The e → a change parallels tecēt, taka (“path”). The t → č change (palatalization) is not regular in Latvian, which suggests either an expressive or affective feature (compare aiča, meiča, from aita (“sheep”), meita (“girl, daughter”)), or the former existence of parallel forms with a and e: *tekls + *takls → *tʲakls; compare dialectal čekls ([tʃækls]). Note that the same stem also palatalized in Tocharian cake (“river”), Avestan 𐬙𐬀𐬐 (tak, “stream, torrent”); since both the ancient Balts and the Tocharians were in direct contact with Northern Iranian tribes, this palatalization may be the result of Iranian influence. Cognates include Sanskrit तकुः (tákuḥ, “hurried, quick, mobile”), तक्वः (takváḥ, “fast, quick”) (compare तक्ति (takti, “to hurry”), Ossetian тӕх (tæx, “quick stream, torrent; quick, fast, turbulent; dedicated”), Ancient Greek ταχύς (takhús, “swift, quick, agile”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [tʃakls]
Adjective
čakls (definite čaklais, comparative čaklāks, superlative visčaklākais, adverb čakli)
- industrious, hard-working, diligent (who works well, who works a lot)
- čakls darbinieks ― industrious employee
- čakls skolnieks ― hard-working student
- čaklākā stradniece ― the most industrious (female) worker
- čakls kolektīvs ― hard-working team
- čakls kā skudra, kā bite ― industrious as an ant, a bee (i.e., very industrious)
Declension
| masculine (vīriešu dzimte) | feminine (sieviešu dzimte) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | ||||||
| nominative (nominatīvs) | čakls | čakli | čakla | čaklas | |||||
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | čaklu | čaklus | čaklu | čaklas | |||||
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | čakla | čaklu | čaklas | čaklu | |||||
| dative (datīvs) | čaklam | čakliem | čaklai | čaklām | |||||
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | čaklu | čakliem | čaklu | čaklām | |||||
| locative (lokatīvs) | čaklā | čaklos | čaklā | čaklās | |||||
| vocative (vokatīvs) | — | — | — | — | |||||
Synonyms
- aktīvs
- centīgs
- cītīgs, uzcītīgs
- darbīgs
- izdarīgs
- nasks
- strādīgs
Derived terms
- čaklība
- čaklums
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “čakls”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN