dakša

 dakša on Latvian Wikipedia

From Proto-Baltic *daš-, with a suffix -kā and š-k metathesis (compare also dialectal daška; there are also dialectal forms like dasti with a suffix -to instead of -kā), from Proto-Indo-European *deḱ (“to pluck, sever, split”). Cognates include Norwegian tagge, German Zacke (“spike”), Middle Low German tagge, Dutch tak (“branch”), English tack.^[1]

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dakša f (4th declension)

1. (usually in the plural) fork, pitchfork (pronged tool with a long straight handle used for lifting, throwing (especially hay))

   dakšu kāts ― fork shaft

   uzdurt salmu klēpi uz dakšām ― to stick a fork into the straw

   izcelt kartupeļus ar dakšām ― to dig out potatoes with a fork

   divzaru, trīszaru, četrzaru dakšas ― two-, three-, four-pronged fork

   divžuburu, trīsžuburu, četržuburu dakšas ― two-, three-, four-pronged fork

   siena, mēslu, dārza, kartupeļu dakšas ― hay, manure, garden, potato fork

2. (usually in the singular) part of a machine composed of two parallel branches

   velosipēda dakša ― bicycle fork

   motocikla priekšējā dakša ― front motorcycle fork

In the “pitchfork” sense, the plural form dakšas is more frequently used than the singular form dakša, though the latter is still attested.

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