strādnieks

Probably from strād(āt) (“to work”) +‎ -nieks. It is also possible that it was derived from an older (and still dialectally attested) noun strāda (“harvest time”), probably a borrowing from Russian dialectal страда (strada, “time of heavy (farm) work; heavy (farm) work”). Originally the meaning of strādnieks was “one who works well, hard,” and referred mostly to farm work. The current meaning “worker (in general)” started in the mid-19th century, especially in writings published in the newspaper “Peterburgas Avīze.”^[1]

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strādnieks m (1st declension, feminine form: strādniece)

1. (male) worker, workman, laborer (a man, person who with his or her work produces something material or cultural)

   čakls strādnieks ― hard-working laborer

   teicams strādnieks ― excellent worker

   garīga darba strādnieks ― clerical worker

   vairums iedzīvotāju bija vienkārši gadījuma strādnieki, kas dzīvoja, tā sakot, no rokas mutē ― the majority of the inhabitants were simply casual laborers, workers, who lived, so to speak, from hand to mouth

2. (male) worker, workman (a man, person who, under a contract of employment, works (e.g., in industry), usually directly in contact with the object being produced)

   strādnieku šķira ― working (lit. workers') class

   strādnieku meistarības konkurss ― workers' skills competition

   strādnieku ciemats ― workers' village

   Māra nāca no vienkāršas strādnieku ģimenes ― Māra came from a simple worker family

• strādāt
• strādīgs, strādīgums