From Proto-Indo-European *sker-, *ker-, *kr̥- (“to turn, to bend”), changed to Proto-Baltic *krei-, with a suffix -r, giving rise to an adjective *kreiras > *kreilas (compare archaic adjective krails (“bent, crooked”)) and a noun *kreiris. The meaning evolved from “bent, crooked” to “not strong, clumsy, weaker, less good,” hence “left (hand),” as opposed to the “good,” “able” right hand, and then to “left-hander.” Cognates include Lithuanian kairỹs (“left-hander”) ( < *krairys).[1]
kreilis m (2nd declension, feminine form: kreile)
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | kreilis | kreiļi |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | kreili | kreiļus |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | kreiļa | kreiļu |
dative (datīvs) | kreilim | kreiļiem |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | kreili | kreiļiem |
locative (lokatīvs) | kreilī | kreiļos |
vocative (vokatīvs) | kreili | kreiļi |