dusēt

Originally the iterative form of dust (“to feel shortness of breath”) (still dialectally attested), from Proto-Baltic *dus-, from Proto-Indo-European *dʰus-, *dʰūs-, *dʰwes- (“to blow”), whence also Latvian dvest (“to breathe”). The original meaning of dusēt was thus “to breathe heavily” (still visible in the related term aizdusa (“shortness of breath”)) from which “to breathe audibly” > “to breathe deeply (as in sleep)” > “to sleep”.

Cognates include Lithuanian dùsti (“to run out of breath; to choke, to stifle”), dusė́ti (“to breathe heavily; to sob”), Old Church Slavonic дꙑхати (dyxati, “to breathe, to blow”), Russian дыша́ть (dyšátʹ, “to breathe”), Belarusian ды́хаць (dýxacʹ), Ukrainian ди́хати (dýxaty), Bulgarian ди́шам (díšam), Czech dychati, Polish dychać.^[1]

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dusēt (intransitive, 3rd conjugation, present dusu, dusi, dus, past dusēju)

1. (poetic) to sleep; to rest

   mierīgi, saldi dusēt ― to sleep peacefully, sweetly

   dusi saldi! ― sleep well! (lit. sweetly)

   dusošā skaistule ― sleeping beauty

   dusēt, gulēt kā mātes klēpī ― to sleep as if on (one's) mother's lap

   mazu brīdi pēc Annužas aiziešanas Liena sēdēja pie dusošas meitiņas šūpuļa ― shortly after Annuža's departure Liena was sitting by the cradle of the little sleeping girl

   mēs nenākam dusēt, nedz atvaļu ņemt ― we did not come to sleep or to take holidays

2. (figuratively) to be dead, to rest

   brāļu kapi... šeit dus tie, kas nolika galvu par mūsu dzimteni ― brethren cemetery... here rest those who gave (their) lives (lit. rested their heads) for our fatherland

   dusi, manu puisīt, lielajā varoņu pulkā! jūs esat krituši par nākotni, par sabiedrību, kurā karš vairs nebūtu iespējams ― sleep, dear boy, in a regiment of great heroes! you have fallen for the future, for a society in which war will no longer be possible

• migt, aizmigt
• gulēt

• aizdusa
• dusa

• miegs