liels

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to decrease, to disappear; thin, slim, slender”) (maybe from the stem *el- (“hungry”)), with an extra suffix -l. The semantic development was probably: “thin, slender” > “long, tall (big in height)” > “remarkable because of size, significance”. A more recent suggestion derives liels from Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”) (again with an extra -l), with the meaning changing from “to pour” > “to even, to smooth (by pouring, casting)” > “to iron, to press” > “to make thin by pressing (e.g., a metal sheet)” > “to extend, increase (by pressing),” from which the meaning “big, large”. Cognates include Lithuanian leĩlas (“thin, slender; thin, watery”), leĩnas (“thin, slender; thin, flexible”) (dialectal liẽlas (“big, large”) is a borrowing from Latvian), Old Prussian lailīsnan (“torture (accusative)”) (> infinitive *lailītwei, in turn from *leil- (“narrow, thin”)), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “small, little”) (from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz), Ancient Greek λειρός (leirós, “smooth, thin, delicate”) (compare λιμός (limós, “hunger, starvation”)).^[1]

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liels (definite lielais, comparative lielāks, superlative vislielākais, adverb lieli)

1. big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)

   liels trauks ― big bowl

   liels cilvēks, dzīvnieks ― large person, animal

   lielas rokas ― large hands

   liels ezers ― big lake

   liela pilsēta ― large city

2. big, large (being more than the appropriate size)

   kurpes ir par lielām ― the shoes are too big

3. big, large (going a longer distance)

   liels atvēziens ― big swing

4. (of sounds) intense, loud

   mašīnu troksnis bija tik liels, ka cilvēku sarunas tikko varēja sadzirdēt ― the machine noise was so loud that one could hardly hear conversations

5. high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)

   liels ātrums, blīvums, spiediens ― high speed, density, pressure

   liels svars ― great, heavy weight

   liels skaits ― large number, amount

   liels skaitlis ― large number, cipher

   liela peļņa ― large profit

   liela nauda ― large (sum of) money

   liels piena izlaukums ― high milk yield

   liela taukvielu koncentrācija ― high fat concentration

6. used with numerical values (in the accusative)

   simt paskalu liels spiediens ― a pressure of (lit. big of) 100 pascals

   divas tonnas liela masa ― a mass of (lit. big of) two tons

   vienu metru liels diametrs ― a diameter of (lit. big of) one meter

   Andoras republikas teritorija ir 465 kvadrātkilometrus liela ― the territory of the Republic of Andorra is 465 square kilometers (lit. 465 square kilometers big)

7. big, grown-up, adult

   Liene ar Juri izauga lieli ― Liene and Juri grew big (= grew up)

   lielie ļaudis nav slikti, vismaz tādi kā Ilgas vecmāmiņa ― big people (= grown-ups) are not bad, at least those like Ilga's grandmother

8. big, large (having many members;)

   liela ģimene ― large family

9. (of feelings, mental states) big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)

   liels uztraukums, nogurums ― big excitement, tiredness

   lielas bēdas ― great sorrow

   liela mīlestība ― great love

10. big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)

    liels trūkums ― big drawback

    liela nabadzība ― great poverty

    dzīvot lielā pārticībā ― to live in great prosperity

    saņemt lielu dāvanu ― to receive a big present

11. (of events, actions) more intense, with more intense effects

    liels uzbrukums ― large attack

    liela cīņa ― big fight

    lieli svētki ― big holidays, big celebration

12. (of duty, position) important, influential

    liels amats ― great, important position, office

13. (of situations) great, big (offering many possibilities)

    lielas priekšrocības ― great advantages

    liela izvēle ― big choice

14. (of people) great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent

    liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs ― great craftsman, organizer, helper

    liela šuvēja ― great seamstress

    liels grāmatu lāsītājs ― great book reader

    liels makšķernieks ― great fisherman

    liels rakstnieks, gleznotājs, mūziķis, melis ― great writer, painter, musician, storyteller

    liels varonis ― great hero

    lieli draugi ― great friends

15. (of people) big, important, rich

    liels muižnieks ― great lord, gentleman

    liels namīpašnieks ― great landlord

16. (of events, art, time periods) great, major, important, significant, influential

    lielais karš ― the great war

    izvirzīt lielus mērķus ― to identify major goals

    lielais balets ― great ballet

    liels laikmets rada lielu dzeju ― a great era creates great poetry

• milzīgs, gigantisks
• prāvs

• mazs
• neliels
• sīks

• lielains, lielainums
• lielīgs, lielība
• lielisks, lieliskums
• lielums

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to bend”), from the stem *el- (“to bend”), whence also elkonis (“elbow”); compare also laiva (“boat”), leja (“valley”). The original meaning was probably “bending, curvature.” A similar semantic development can be seen in Sanskrit आणिः (āṇiḥ, “leg above knee”) (< *arṇí- < *elni-), Armenian ոլոք (olokʻ, “shinbone”) (< *elok- / *olok-). Another suggestion has liels (“shin, calf (of leg)”) be the nominalized form of the adjective liels (“great, large, big”) with intonational change.^[1]

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liels m (1st declension)

1. (anatomy) shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)

   tikai nupat viņš sajuta sūrstošas sāpes kreisās kājas lielā ― only then did he feel a sharp pain in his left leg's shin

2. an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

• (annual hard widening or growth on a tree): lielainums
• apakšstilbs, stilbs
• lielainums