salns

The world seems to be derived from the same source as salna (“frost”) (q.v.): the verb salt (“to freeze”) (q.v.); the meaning change parallels that of sarma (“frost”), sirms (“gray”). But it is also possible that salns either came from, or was influenced by, Proto-Indo-European *sal- (“dirty gray”) via Proto-Baltic *sal- (whence also sāls (“salt”), q.v.); cf. Russian соло́вый (solóvyj, “yellowish horse with light tail and mane”), Old High German salo (“dirty gray”), Old English salu (“dirty gray”), Middle Dutch salu, zalu, zaluw (“pale yellow; dirty”), Dutch zaluw (“dark yellow”).^[1]

• IPA^(key):

salns (definite salnais, comparative salnāks, superlative vissalnākais, adverb salni)

1. (of animal, especially horse, hair) roan-colored (having the kind of color created by even mixture of white and colored hairs)

   salna ķēve ― roan mare

   Mārcis piekļāva galvu salnā kumeļa krēpēm ― Mārcis pressed (his) head in (= against) the roan colt's mane

   salnais sāk rikšot ― the roan one (= horse) started trotting, cantering

2. (of other entities) having a color similar to that of a roan horse

   pavasaros zaļš un skaļš, ziemās salns ― in spring green and noisy, in winter roan (= whitish brown)

   debesīs auļo mākoņi salni ― in the sky roan (= whitish brown) clouds gallop

3. (figuratively, of people's hair) grayish

   tīk, netīk melnu matu zīds, / bet cienām galvu salnu ― the silk of black hair (= younger people) may please or not please / but we respect a roan (= grayish) head (= older people)

   dzirdot jaunās atraitnes skumji priecīgo balsi, viņa salnajā bārdā noritēja dažas asaras ― hearing the sadly joyful voice of the young widow, a few tears moved in his roan (= grayish) beard

• salnis