īss

īss

See also: iss, ISS, íss, İSS, -iss, and -iss-

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *isas, *insas, from Proto-Indo-European *eis-, *is- (“to move fast, forcefully, to drive”) (from earlier “to hit, to move, to drive”). This root may have resulted from metathesis of *sei- (“to extend one's arms; strain, strength”), whence sist (“to hit”). Semantic development: “to hit, to move” > “to knock down, to reduce (with a blow)” > “made smaller, shorter” (participle). Cognates include Lithuanian dialectal įsas, Old Prussian insan (accusative), Sanskrit इषत (iṣát, “a little, a few”) (< *iṇst).[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [îːs]

Adjective

īss (definite īsais, comparative īsāks, superlative visīsākais, adverb īsi)

1. short (having relatively little length, less than average length)

   īsas piedurknes ― short sleeves

   īsa pātaga ― short whip

   īsi svārki ― short skirt

   īsie viļņi, īsviļņi ― shortwaves

   īss stāsts, dzejolis — short story, poem

2. short, laconic

   īsos vārdos ― in short, in sum, briefly (lit. in short words)

3. short, brief (lasting relatively little time, having relatively little duration; syn. neilgs)

   pēc īsiem saules mirkļiem ― after brief moments of sun(shine)

   ziemas dienas ir īsas ― winter days are short

   īsa izrāde ― short show

   īss koncerts ― short concert

   īsa saruna ― short conversation

4. short (which goes, ends quickly, insufficiently long)

   dzīve taču ir tik īsa kā decembra diena ― but life is as short as a December day

   bišu mūžs ir īss, tikai daži mēneši ― bee life is short, only a few months

5. (of feelings, states, relations) short-lived, insufficient

   mana laime bija īsa ― my happiness was short

6. (phonetics, phonology) short (pronounced with relatively little duration)

   īss patskanis ― short vowel

   īsa zilbe ― short syllable

7. short, brief (lasting only a few moments)

   īss svilpiens ― short whistle

   īsa skaņa, nopūta ― short sound, sigh

8. (of motion) short, quick (small, but fast)

   ar īsu žestu tas aicināja viņu apsēsties sev pretim ― with a short, quick gesture that one invited him to sit down next to him

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of īss

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	īss	īsi		īsa	īsas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	īsu	īsus		īsu	īsas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	īsa	īsu		īsas	īsu
dative (datīvs)	īsam	īsiem		īsai	īsām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	īsu	īsiem		īsu	īsām
locative (lokatīvs)	īsā	īsos		īsā	īsās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Antonyms

• (of space): garš
• (of time): ilgs

Derived terms

• īsināt
• īsums
• īsviļņi, īsie viļņi

References

1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “īss”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN