kārts

According to the most widespread view, kārts is a nominal form of the stem of the verb kārt “to hang” (q.v.), in which case its original meaning was “hanging (piece of wood),” or maybe “piece of wood from which something hangs.” Another hypothesis derives kārts from the same stem as cirst “to chop wood,” i.e. Proto-Baltic *kart-, *kirt-, from Proto-Indo-European *ker- “to cut” with an extra -t, in which case the original meaning would have been “cut, chopped (piece of wood).” Note, however, that the latter hypothesis does not explain the level tone in kārsts (cirst has falling tone), whereas the former does (kārt, like kārts, has level tone). Cognates include Lithuanian kártis, Old Prussian kartans.

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kārts f (6th declension)

1. pole, post (long, thin piece of wood, usually for supporting something)

   nomizota kārts ― debarked pole

   cirst kārtis ― to cut poles

   sasliet kārtis ― to raise poles

   kāršu žogs ― pole fence

   karoga kārts ― flagpole

   garš kā kārts ― tall as a pole (a tall, thin person)

   Juris pagalmā ieraudzīja Ellu, kas vilka metrus divus, divarpus garu kārti ― in the courtyard Juris saw Ella dragging a two-, two-and-a-half-meter long pole

   viņš staigā pa dārzu, gar ēkām, gar dīķi... pāris reizes ar kārti to mērīja ― he walked by the garden, along the buildings, the pond... a couple of times he measured it with a pole

2. (sports, athletics) pole used in pole vault competitions

   tagad, izrādās, vairs nepietiek tikai ar kārts atbilstību sportista augumam un svaram ― now, it turns out, the support of the pole is no longer enough for the height and weight of the athlete...

• līksts

Borrowed from German Karte (with level-tone lengthening: āɾ > āːɾ), itself borrowed from French carte. The term is first mentioned in 17th-century dictionaries as a plural 5th-declension noun (kārtes); the current 6th-declension form is first attested in the 1870s, perhaps as a result of the influence of kārts “pole” (see above), which was already a 6th-declension stem; cf. karte, also borrowed from German Karte, but not influenced by kārts “pole.”

• (obsolete form) kārte

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kārts f (6th declension)

1. card, playing card (one of usually 52 rectangular pieces of hard paper or cardboard with drawings, used to play various games)

   kāršu komplekts ― deck of cards

   kāršu vērtība ― the value of the cards

   kāršu spēle ― card game

   dalīt kārtis ― to give (lit. distribute) the cards

   kāršu suga ― card suit

   Nikurs paņēma savu kārti... tas bija pīķa kalps ― Nikurs took his card... it was the jack of spades

2. cards, card game (a game which uses these cards)

   kāršu partija ― a game of cards

   spēlēt kārtis ― to play cards

   kungi sēdās pie kāršu galda ― the gentlemen sat down at the card table

   lielajā namā pirms revolūcijas pulcējās muižnieku aristokrātija, notriecot lauku kārtīs, uzdzīvē un tukšās diskusijās ― before the revolution, the landowner aristocracy got together in the big house, killing time in (= with) cards, merry-making and empty discussions

• spēļu kārts

Suits in Latvian · sugas (see also: kārts, spēļu kārts) (layout · text)
sirdis, erceni	kāravi	pīķi	krusti, kreiči