grezns

There are diverging opinions on the origin of this word. It may possibly come from Proto-Baltic *grež-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreǵ-, *gʰerǵ-, from the stem *gʰer- (“to rub, to knead, to grate”) with an extra -ǵ. The semantic evolution would have been: “rubbed” > “polished, shiny” > “beautiful, gorgeous (having external shine, beauty).” Another possibility is that grezns is etymologically related to Russian кра́сный (krásnyj, “red; (dial.) beautiful”). Some specialists suggest that it may be a borrowing from Slavic. Cognates include Lithuanian gražùs (“pretty, beautiful, nice”), dialectal grãžnas.

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grezns (definite greznais, comparative greznāks, superlative visgreznākais, adverb grezni)

1. (of objects, spaces) splendid, luxurious, magnificent

   grezns tērps ― luxurious costume

   greznas rotas ― magnificent jewelry

   grezna vāze ― luxurious vase

   apskatījām dodžu pili, kuras iekšiene bija pasakaini grezna, rotāta ar slavenu mākslinieku gleznām un freskām ― we visited the doges' palace, the inside of which was incredibly luxurious, decorated with famous artists' paintings and frescoes

2. rich, luxurious (characterized by wealth; which expresses wealth)

   greznas viesības ― luxury party

   viņš kļuva grāmatvedis, kaut gan visvairāk kāroja greznu dzīvi ― he became an accountant, even though he longed most of all for a luxurious life

3. (of people) richly, luxuriously dressed

   dāma grezna, balta, stalta, sasprādzēta... ― a magnificent lady, white, imposing, all buckled up...

4. beautiful, bright, luxuriant, splendid (having bright colors, a beautiful shape)

   sevišķi skaistas, greznas un neparasti dažādas ir bulgāru rozes ― the Bulgarian roses are particularly beautiful, luxuriant and unusually varied

• daiļš
• glīts
• krāšņs
• skaists
• (colloquial) smuks

• greznība
• greznums