dzīsla

From Proto-Baltic *gīsla (or perhaps Proto-Balto-Slavic *gīˀ(s)lāˀ^[1]), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷi-, *gʷey- (< *gʷeyh₃- “to live”) with an extra -la (ancient Indo-European cultures often linked the idea of “life”, “being alive” with visible blood vessels and tendons).^[2]

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dzīsla f (4th declension)

1. (anatomy) blood vessel (vein, artery)

   asinis rit dzīslās ― blood flows in the veins

   mūsu dzīslas ne jau ūdens silts, / karstas asinis ar sirdi runā ― in our blood vessels not cold water, / but hot blood speaks with the heart

2. (botany) leaf vein (part of the leaf vascular system or venation)

   viss augs (driģene) pūkains, vainaglapas ar violetām dzīslām ― the whole plant (henbane) is fluffy, with petals with violet veins

   lāpu krāsa kāpostiem pelēki zaļa... lapām lielas dzīslas ― the color of cabbage leaves (is) grayish-green... the leaves (have) large veins

3. (geology) vein (a rock-filled crack or fissure on the Earth's crust)

   dzīslu ieži ― fissure rock (the kind of rock that fills fissures)

   rūdu dzīslas ― ore veins

   Volīnijā pēdējā laikā atrastas pegmatīta dzīslas ar unikāliem vīna dzelteniem topāza kristāliem ― in Volhynia pegmatite veins with unique wine yellow topaz crystals were recently found

4. (anatomy) sinew, tendon (fibrous tissue connecting a muscle to its bone)

   es sastiepu kājas dzīslu ― I sprained (my) leg tendon

   zemnieks brīnīdamies staipīja savus neveiklos, sastrādātos pirkstus, dzīslas džerkstēja ar nepatīkam skaņu ― with wonderment, the peasant stretched his clumsy, overworked fingers, (his) tendons producing an unpleasant noise

In the sense of "blood vessel", dzīsla is a non-technical, colloquial word, more likely to be found in emotive or poetic expressions while vēna and artērija are more technical and typical of scientific discourse (like English arteries when compared to veins).

• asinsvads
• vēna
• artērija
• (sinew): cīpsla

• dzīslene