bīties

Latvian

Etymology

A contraction of the older form bijāties, itself the reflexive form of bijāt. From Proto-Balto-Slavic *bajā́ˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰoyh₂-eh₂-ti, from *bʰeyh₂-. Cognates include Lithuanian bijóti, bijótis (“to be afraid, to fear”), Old Prussian biātwei (), present 3rd person bia (“to be afraid”) () biāsnan (acc., compare Latvian bijāšanu), pobaiint (“to condemn”) (compare Latvian pabaidīt), Old Church Slavonic боꙗти (bojati), Russian бояться (bojatʹsja), Belarusian бая́цца (bajácca), Ukrainian боя́тися (bojátysja), Czech báti, Polish bać, Old High German bibēn (“to tremble”) (< *bʰi-bʰoy-ti, a reduplicated root), German beben, Sanskrit भयते (bháyate), Ancient Greek πίθηκος (píthēkos, “ape, monkey”) (*pithos < *bʰidʰ-os (“ugly”), probably from earlier “fearsome”), Latin foedus (“ugly, loathsome, horrible”) (< *bʰoydʰos).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Verb

bīties refl. + (no+) genitive, 1st conj., pres. bīstos, bīsties, bīstas, past bijos

1. to be afraid (to experience fear; to feel insecure)

   bities no suņu ― to be afraid of dogs

   bīties soda ― to be afraid of punishment

   bīties tumsas ― to be afraid of darkness

   ne no kā nebīties ― to not be afraid of anything

   bīties kā no uguns ― to be afraid as if of fire (= to be very afraid)

   bīstas kā velns no krusta ― he is afraid like the devil (is) of the cross

   bīties pakustēties ― to be afraid of budging

   soļi dobji skan tukšā telpā, tu pūlies klusi staigāt... tukšums, nav ko bīties, tomēr bailes ― the steps sound hollow in the empty space, you try to walk silently... darkness, there is nothing to be afraid of, but (= except) fear

2. to be afraid, to fear (to feel worried, to feel anxiety)

   bīties par dēlu ― to fear for (one's) son

   par tādām bēdām mums vairs nav jābīstas ― we no longer need to fear such misfortune

3. to be afraid, to fear, to dread (to try to avoid)

   bīties šķēršļus ― to fear obstacles

   no darba zemnieki nebijās ― the farmers were not afraid of work

4. (colloquial, usually about plants) to be afraid (to be sensitive to something)

   jaunās šķirnes zemenes nebīstas no salnas ― the new varieties of strawberry are not afraid of the frost

Conjugation

Synonyms

• baidīties
• bail
• bažīties
• uztraukties

Related terms

• baidīt, baidīties
• baigs, baigums
• bail, bailes
• bailīgs, bailīgums, bailība
• bieds, biedēt, biedināt, biedēklis
• bikls, biklums, biklība

References