baldas
Lithuanian
Etymology
Of unclear origin.
The traditional linkage of the term to the same word family as báldyti (“to knock, make noise”), bélsti (“to knock, speak with animation”), and bildė́ti (“to knock”)[1] is semantically far-fetched; however, for a semantic parallel, compare English knick-knack, which describes ornaments and likely traces back to a root denoting "knocking" etymologically.[2]
It is also worth noting that báldyti has a second, possibly unrelated, usage meaning "to paint (walls, etc.) white" and "to bleach (cloth, etc.)", which seems related to báltas (“white”). It is possible that bal̃das derives from this usage instead, and the presumed semantic shift would not be quite as drastic.[3]
Pronunciation
Noun
bal̃das m (plural bal̃dai) stress pattern 4
Usage notes
In practice, only used in the plural form, bal̃dai.
Declension
| singular (vienaskaita) | plural (daugiskaita) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (vardininkas) | bal̃das | baldaĩ |
| genitive (kilmininkas) | bal̃do | baldų̃ |
| dative (naudininkas) | bal̃dui | baldáms |
| accusative (galininkas) | bal̃dą | baldùs |
| instrumental (įnagininkas) | baldù | baldaĩs |
| locative (vietininkas) | baldè | balduosè |
| vocative (šauksmininkas) | bal̃de | baldaĩ |
References
- ^ Smoczyński, Wojciech (2007) “bal̃dai”, in Słownik etymologiczny języka litewskiego (in Polish), Vilnius: Uniwersytet Wileński, page 43
- ^ “baldas”, in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė [Lithuanian etymological dictionary database], 2007–2012
- ^ “báldyti”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2025
Portuguese
Verb
baldas
Spanish
Noun
baldas f pl
Verb
baldas