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pēc. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
pēc, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
pēc in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Latvian
Etymology
As adverb (the nowadays more frequent prepositional use is a later development), pēc is the reflex of an earlier pēdis (“after(wards)”), still found dialectally and in folk songs, itself from *pēdies, an old instrumental plural form of pēds, a morphological variant of pēda (“foot sole; footprint”). The original meaning was therefore sequentiality, like footprints: “one after the other,” from which later “after that,” “after...”.
Pronunciation
Adverb
pēc
- after, afterwards, later, later on (in a moment of time posterior to the reference time)
- pēc, kad noticis, visi gudri ― after (something) happens, all (are) wise (= in hindsight, everything is obvious)
- jo dzestrāku rīts rasu audis, jo skaidrāka pēc diena būs ― the fresher, cooler the morning makes the dew, the clearer, brighter the day will be later
- jāiet pamielot viešņa arī, lai nerunā pēc, ka mēs tai likuši aiziet tukšā dūšā ― we have to feed the visitor, too, so that she won't say later that we made her go on an empty stomach
Preposition
pēc (with genitive)
- used to refer to a time posterior to a certain action or event; after, in
- pēc tam ― after that
- pēc brīža istabā ienāca māte ― after a moment, mother came in
- ierasties pēc divām stundām ― to arrive after, in two hours
- vilciens atiet pēc stundas ― the train leaves in (lit. after) an hour
- pēc darba braucu uz mājām ― after work I go home
- pēc pusnakts sākās vētra ― after midnight a storm started
- pēc lietus labi aug sēnes ― after the rain, mushrooms grow well
- pēc diviem mēnešiem būs pārbaudījumi ― after two months there will be a test
- pēc koncerta notika pārrunas ― after the concert there were discussions
- nodarbības turpināsies pēc pārtraukuma ― classes will resume after the break
- aizrit diena pēc dienas... bet vēstules no brāļa kā nav, tā nav ― day after day passes... and yet, no letters from (his) brother
- used to refer to a place located further away than a certain reference point or distance; after
- pēc diviem kilometriem būs krustceļš ― after two kilometers there will be a crossroads
- pēc kāda gabala gājējs apstājās ― after a certain distance the (walking) traveler stopped
- used in reference to a sequence in time or space; after, by
- dot dzert visiem pēc kārtas ― to give to drink to everyone in a row (lit. after order, in order)
- lopus citu pēc cita izveda no kūts ― they drove the animals out of the barn one after the other
- viņi nolēma atpūsties pēc katriem pieciem kilometriem ― they decided to rest after every five kilometers
- used to indicate the purpose or goal of an action; for, after, in order to get
- iet uz aku pēc ūdens ― to go to the well for, to get water
- aiziet uz veikalu pēc maizes ― to go to the shop after bread
- sniegties pēc grāmatas ― to reach out for a book
- jautāt pēc saimnieces ― to ask for the lady
- kliegt pēc palīdzības ― to shout for help
- censties pēc izglītības ― to strive for education
- skumt pēc Rīgas ― to grieve for Rīga
- ilgas pēc dzimtenes ― a longing for one's home(land)
- kāre pēc medus ― a craving for honey
- alkt pēc zemenēm ― to crave (for) strawberries
- “ko tā vālodze sauc?” “vālodze sauc pēc lietus” ― “what is the oriole calling?” “the oriole is calling for rain”
- (postnominally, as a postposition) used to indicate the cause or reason for something, the motive of an action; for, because of, for the sake of
- skata pēc ― for the sake of appearance, formatlity
- dziedāt gara laika pēc ― to sing because of boredom
- audzēt puķes košuma pēc ― to grow flowers for (their) beauty
- strādāt bērnu pēc ― to work for (the benefit of) the children
- pieklājības pēc viņš pateica dažus vārdus ― he said a few words for the sake of politeness
- used to indicate the basis, the grounds for something; by, according to
- pēc rakstura saticīgs cilvēks ― by character a sociable person
- pēc izglītības ķīmiķis ― a chemist by training
- spriest par cilvēku pēc viņa darbiem ― to judge a person by his works
- sakārtot kastes pēc lieluma ― to arrange the boxes by size
- līdzskaņu klasifikācija pēc aktīvā runas orgāna ― a classification of consonants according to the active organ of speech
- used to indicate the way, the method, the example being followed; by, according to
- strādāt pēc plāna ― to work accroding to plan
- rīkoties pēc vajadzības ― to act by, according to necessity
- uzmest skici pēc atmiņas ― to draw a sketch by memory
- izvēlēties krāsu pēc savas gaumes ― to choose a color according to one's taste
- strādāt pēc labākās sirdsapziņas ― to work according to one's (best) conscience
- ganos dziedāju, jo ganam pēc paraduma ir jādzied ― I sing in the pastures, because by tradition shepherds must sing
- used to indicate similarity; like, after
- īstenība pēc direktora viņš nemaz neizskatās ― in truth, he doesn't look at all like the director
- te ož pēc dūmiem ― it smells here like smoke
- arāja rokas smaržo pēc zemes, sējēja rokas pēc graudiem ― the plower's hands smell like earth, the sower's hands like grain
Usage notes
Usually the genitive is used with pēc, but in the phrase pēc tam “after that” the dative form tam of tas “that” is unexpectedly used.
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