dēls

From Proto-Baltic *dē-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰē-, *dʰeh₁(y)- (“to suckle, to nurse”) (whence also Latvian dēle (“leech”), q.v.); the original meaning was thus “one to nurse,” “suckling one,” “baby” (cf. Latin fellāre (“to nurse”), filius (“son”) < *fēlios < *dʰeh₁(y)-li-os). Cognates include Proto-Slavic *dětę (Russian дети (deti, “children”)), Albanian djalë (“boy, son”). The term dēls replaced an earlier *sūn(u)s, the original Indo-European word for “son” (cf. Lithuanian sūnùs, English son, Russian сын (syn)). This is usually explained as the result of taboo: the ‘real’ word for “son” was avoided so as not to attract the attention of evil spirits. Note that the languages that lack a reflex of this original word (Latin, Celtic, Latvian, Albanian) also lack the corresponding word for “daughter” (cf. Lithuanian duktė̃, Russian дочь (dočʹ), German Tochter); this suggests that there may have been dialectal differences in Proto-Indo-European concerning words for children.^[1]

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dēls m (1st declension)

1. son (a male child, in relation to his parents)

   dēls ar māti ― a son with (his) mother

   jaunākais, vecākais dēls ― youngest, oldest son

   pašu dēls ― (one's) own son

   īstais dēls ― real son

   vienīgais dēls ― the only son

   brāļa, māsas dēls ― nephew (lit. brother's, sister's son)

   dēls ļoti rūpējās par saviem vecākiem ― the son takes great care of his parents

2. (colloquial) son (a form of address used by an older person talking to a younger man)

   “Grobiņa tēv, vai tu domā, ka tava nauda nestāv droši?” Jānis jautāja; “... nu, dēls, par drošību, drošības dēļ nav ko runāt...” ― “Father (of the) Grobiņš (= Mr Grobiņš), do you think that your money is not safe?” Jānis asked; “... well, son, there is nothing to say about, about security...”

3. (poetic) son (a member of a people, group, etc.)

   Latvijas zemes dēls ― a son of the land of Latvia (= a Latvian)

   dažādu tautu dēli un meitas ― the sons and daughters of various nations

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