prasīt

From an earlier *prašiti, perhaps the iterative form of an unattested *prest or *prast (the modern iterative form is prašņāt, dialectal prasināt), from Proto-Balto-Slavic *práśīˀtei, from Proto-Indo-European *preḱ- (“to ask (for)”). Cognates include Lithuanian prašýti, Old Church Slavonic просити (prositi), Russian проси́ть (prosítʹ), Ukrainian проси́ти (prosýty), Bulgarian прося (prosja), Czech prositi, Polish prosić, Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌹𐌷𐌽𐌰𐌽 (fraihnan), Old High German frāgēn, frāgon, German fragen, Sanskrit पृच्छ्ति (pṛccháti), Avestan 𐬞𐬆𐬭𐬆𐬯𐬀𐬌𐬙𐬌 (pər^əsaⁱti), Tocharian A pārk-, prak-, Tocharian B prek-, Ossetian фарст (farst) (< Proto-Iranian *pars-).^[1]

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prasīt (transitive, 3rd conjugation, present prasu, prasi, prasa, past prasīju)

1. to ask for, to request, to demand (to express the desire to obtain something)

   tauta prasa mieru ― the peoples demand peace

   prasīt jaunu darba metožu ieviešanu ― to request the introduction of new work methods

   es prasīju atļauju ieiet tur ― I requested permission to enter there

   bet vai es varēju prasīt maizi? ― but could I ask for bread?

   gājēji ar katru gadu prasīja lielākas algas ― every year the attendees asked for higher wages

   onkulīt, cik prasāt par kucēnu? ― uncle, how much do you ask for a puppy?

2. to require, to demand (to set rules for behavior)

   partija no tevis prasa, lai tu būtu godīgs cilvēks... partija neprasa, lai tu liekuļotu ― the party requires from you that you be an honorable person... the party doesn't require that you be insincere

   sabiedriska doma prasa, lai cilvēka rīcība būtu ne tikai juridiski un morāli pareiza, bet ari, lai tā būtu iekšēji un ārēji skaista ― public opinion demands that human action be not only juridically and morally correct, but also that it be beautiful inside and out

3. to require, to demand (to need for its existence; to cause necessarily)

   magnolijas prasa ar mitrumu un trūdvielām bagātu augsni ― magnolias require a soil rich in moisture and humus

   izlaušanās cīņa katrā ziņā prasīs upurus ― breaking a fight will always demand victims

   šīs avārijas prasījušas pāri par 10 000 cilvēku dzīvību ― this accident demanded (= cost) the lives of over 10 000 people

   karsts tomēr drausmīgi, katra mazākā kustība prasīja piepūli ― but (it was) terribly hot, every small movement demanded effort

4. to ask (to request information with a question; to try to find out)

   prasīju, kas atgadījies ― I asked what had happened

   “kad nāksi atkal skolā?” skolēni Mamedam prasa... “kad ciema dārzos izbeigsies vīnogas”, atteic Mameds — “when are you going back to school?” the students ask Mameds... “when they run out of grapes in the village gardens,” Mameds answered

   “kas man traucē?” beidzot viņš ierunājās... “kāpēc jūs vēl prasāt?... neesat taču svešinieks šinī pusē” — “what is stopping me?” he finally exlaimed... “why do you still ask? after all you're not a stranger around here”

• (of "to request (something)"): lūgt
• (of "to ask questions"): jautāt

prefixed verbs:

other derived terms:

• prasītājs, prasītāja
• prasīgs, prasīgums, prasība