censonis
Latvian
Etymology
From censt(ies) (“to try”) + -onis. The standard stem for this verb has š (es cenšos, “I try”), but dialectally also t (es centos), which explains why there are derived forms with t, like centīgs, centība (“zeal”), and with s, like censonis (“striver, fighter, assiduous person”) or sacensība (“competition”) (and also, colloquially, censīgs, censība).[1]
Noun
censonis m (2nd declension, feminine form: censone)
- striver, fighter, assiduous person (someone who, while overcoming difficulties, tries to achieve a goal; someone who dedicates himself, all his strength, to a goal)
- dzīves sūrums agrāk apraka jauno censoņu sapņus ― life's bitterness soon buried the young fighters' dreams
- viņš domā par censoņiem, viņu sapņiem, viņu cīniņiem ― he thought about the strivers, their dreams, their struggles
Declension
Declension of censonis (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | censonis | censoņi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | censoni | censoņus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | censoņa | censoņu |
| dative (datīvs) | censonim | censoņiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | censoni | censoņiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | censonī | censoņos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | censoni | censoņi |
Related terms
- censties
- centība
- centīgs, (colloquial) censīgs
- sacensība
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “censties”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN