From earlier *kreiv-, from a Slavic stem *kriv-, which has the same source as Latvian kreiss (“left”) (q.v.). At first this was the name of a Baltic tribe that lived in the area near Pskov, an area also inhabited by many Slavs (ancestors of today's Russians), who were likewise called “kriviči” (Old East Slavic кривичи (kriviči)). Old Latvians (initially Latgalians) therefore used the name *kreivi > krievi to refer not only to the neighboring Baltic tribe, but also to their Slavic neighbors, and later on generalized it to all Russians.[1] More at Krivichs.
krievs m (1st declension, feminine form: krieviete)
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | krievs | krievi |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | krieva | krievu |
dative (datīvs) | krievam | krieviem |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | krievu | krievus |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | krievu | krieviem |
locative (lokatīvs) | krievā | krievos |
vocative (vokatīvs) | kriev | krievi |