nāve

Latvian

 nāve on Latvian Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• (dialectal) nāvs (6th decl.)

Etymology

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Originally an i-stem (*nāvis; compare dialectal nāvs) changed by analogy into a 5th-declension e-stem; from Proto-Balto-Slavic *nā́ˀwis, from Proto-Indo-European *neh₂wis, from the stem *neh₂w- (“death”). There is also a stem *néh₂us (“boat, ship”) (compare Latin navis, Ancient Greek ναῦς (naûs), Sanskrit नाव (nāva), Proto-Scythian *nā́w (“boat, ship”), Tajik нов (nov, “gutter”), Norwegian Bokmål nu (“hod, trough”). It is possible that these two *neh₂w-'s were originally one stem, with the meaning “timber, tree” (compare Sanskrit वन (vana, “timber, tree, forest”), apparently with metathesis of v and n), from which the meaning would change in two ways: on the one hand, “timber, tree” > “dug-out tree” > “boat, ship”, and, on the other hand, “timber, tree” > “tree stump, dead tree” > “dead body; death.”

Cognates include Lithuanian nõvis (“death”), nõvė (“slaughtering, killing; unknown disease; yoke; coercion”), Old Prussian nowis (“body, flesh”), Russian dialectal навей (navej), навь (navʹ), навье (navʹje, “corpse, dead body”), Czech archaic nav (“tomb, hell, beyond”), Gothic 𐌽𐌰𐌿𐍃 (naus, “dead body, corpse”), genitive 𐌽𐌰𐍅𐌹𐍃 (nawis), Breton naoun (“hunger”) (< Proto-Celtic *nāunyā).

Pronunciation

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Noun

nāve f (5th declension)

1. death (the end of life, of a lifetime)

   dzīvības un nāves jautājums ― a question of life and death

   atra, drīza nāve ― early death

   viegla nāve ― easy death

   mokpilna nāve ― torturous death

   dabiska, pēkšņa nāve ― natural, sudden death

   klīniska nāve ― clinical death

   bada nāve ― hunger death (= starvation)

   nāves diena, brīdis ― day, time of death

   sodīt ar nāvi ― to punish with death

   piespriest nāvi ― to sentence to death

   nāves sods, nāvessods — death penalty

   izglābties no (drošas) nāves ― to escape (certain) death

   mirt varoņa nāve ― to die a hero's death

   mirt traģiskā nāvē ― to die a tragic death

   līdz nāvei ― to the death, till death

   dzīvības un nāves dialektiskā vienība ― the dialectical unity of life and death

   galvenie nāves cēloņi ir asinsrites orgānu slimības, ļaundabīgie audzēji un nelaimes gadījumi ― the main causes of death are circulatory system diseases, cancers and accidents

Declension

Derived terms

• nāvessods, nāves sods
• nāvīgs
• nāvinieks, nāviniece

Related terms

• nāvēt

See also

• mirt

References

Pali

Alternative forms

Noun

nāve f

1. vocative singular of nāvā (“boat”)