From Proto-Baltic *ašmen, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱ- (“sharp, pointed, edgy”), with a suffix -men. Etymologically, this is a doublet of akmens (“stone”), with a different development of *ḱ, perhaps because of Proto-Indo-European dialectal differences. Cognates include Lithuanian ãšmenys (pl. only; compare dialectal singular ašmuõ, genitive ašmeñs, Sanskrit अश्रि (áśri, “corner, edge, blade”), अश्मन् (aśman, “stone, rock, firmament”).
asmens m (2nd declension, irregular nominative, genitive)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | asmens | asmeņi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | asmeni | asmeņus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | asmens | asmeņu |
| dative (datīvs) | asmenim | asmeņiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | asmeni | asmeņiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | asmenī | asmeņos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | asmeni | asmeņi |
asmẽns m