briedis

 briedis on Latvian Wikipedia

From Proto-Baltic *breid-, *bried-, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreydʰ-, together with a variant *bʰrent-, both from the stem *bʰer (“to swell”) (whence also briest (“to swell”), q.v.). The meaning apparently changed as follows: “swollen, big” > “having a big, well-developed body” > “strong, imposing (animal).” At first this word apparently referred to elks, and only later to deer; the meaning “elk” is still found in folklore. Cognates include Lithuanian bríedis (“elk”), Old Prussian braydis (“elk”) (< *breidis), Sudovian brid (“deer”), Elfdalian brinde (“elk”), Messapic brénthon (“elk, deer”) (< *brénton), ^[1] Messapic bréndon (“deer”), Albanian bri (“horn, antler”), Thracian toponym Brendike, Swedish brinde (“elk”).^[2][3]

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briedis m (2nd declension)

1. deer, stag (especially Dama dama)

   brieža ragi ― deer antlers

   brieža medības ― deer hunting

   briežu mātīte ― female deer

   stalts kā briedis ― tall, stately like a deer

• staltbriedis
• ziemeļbriedis

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *bried-, seemingly from a Proto-Indo-European *bʰreydʰ- (“elk, deer”). Cognate with Latvian briedis (“elk”), Old Prussian braydis (“elk”) (< *breidis); outside of Baltic, cognate with Sudovian brid (“deer”), Elfdalian brinde (“elk”), Swedish brinde (“elk”), Ancient Greek βρένδος (bréndos, “deer”) (from Messapic), Albanian bri (“horn, antler”).^[1][2] Various formally and semantically unconvincing proposals have been given to derive these words from a Proto-Indo-European verbal formation.^[3]

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bríedis m stress pattern 1

1. elk (UK), moose (US), Alces alces