tēvs

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Latvian

 tēvs on Latvian Wikipedia
Tēvs ar dēliem

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *tewas ("father"), from Proto-Indo-European *te- (father), a stem found in reduplicated form in tētis (father) (q.v.). The epenthetic v arose to break the e-a sequence. Cognates include Lithuanian tėvas, Old Prussian tāws, towis (father), thewis (father's brother).

Pronunciation

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Noun

tēvs m (1st declension)

  1. father (a man who has a child or children)
    tēvs ar dēliema father with (his) sons
    tēva pienākumsfather's duty, obligation
    tēva gādībafather's care
    tas ir mans tēvsthat is my father
    pie eglītes sēž arī pārējie ģimenes locekļi: tēvs, māte, vēcmāmiņathe remaining family members - father, mother, grandmother - are sitting by the pine (= Christmas) tree
  2. (Christianity) God the Father (God seen as the creator of the universe)
    Mūsu Tēvs, Tēvs MūsuOur Father (prayer)
    debesu tēvsheavenly father
    Dievs Tēvs! Dievs Kungs!oh God! oh Lord! (expressions of surprise or fear)
  3. (Christianity) Father (used to address or to speak about members of the Catholic or Orthodox clergy: priests, monks, etc.)
    svētais tēvsholy father (the Catholic Pope's title)
    garīgais tēvsspiritual father (preacher, priest, etc.)
    baznīcas tēvithe fathers of the church (who formed the church's doctrive from the 2nd to the 8th century)
    pareizticīgo garīdznieks tēvs Andrejs, vēršoties pie krieviem, lūdza atbalstīt latviešus viņu cīņā par neatkarībuthe Orthodox priest Father Andrejs, turning to the Russians, asked (them) to support the Latvians in their struggle for independence
  4. (with a family or house name in the genitive) father; a respectful form of address for an older man, especially the leader of a household, farm, etc.
    drīz izsteidzās Olliņu tēvs patssoon (the) father (of the) Oliņš (family) himself hurried out
    vecais Rijkuris atnāca gausiem soļiem un apstājās Natei blakus vagas galā: “jā, to es saprotu”, viņš teica; “vai ne, Rijkuru tēv, tagad te augs!”the old Rijkuris came with slow steps and stood next to Nate at the end of the furrow: “yes, I understand that,” he said; “don't you, father (of the) Rijkuri, now it (= plant) will grow here!”
  5. (in the plural, of people) fathers, ancestors
    tēvu tēvithe fathers' fathers (= the ancestors)
    tēvu tēvu laikithe fathers' fathers' (= ancient) times
    tēvu zeme, tēvzemefatherland
    (aiz)iet pie tēviemto go to the fathers (= to die)
  6. (figuratively) father, founder, creator
    Ādolfs Alunāns ir latviešu teātra tēvsĀdolfs Alunāns is the father of the Latvian theater
  7. (of animals) male (usually tēviņš)
    vilku tēvswolf father, male wolf
    sloku tēviwoodock fathers, male woodcocks
  8. (of plants, their parts; in the genitive, used as an adjective) from which there is growth, which generates new growth
    tēva augs, tēvaugsgrowing (part of) plant
    tēva ziedsgrowing (part of) flower

Usage notes

The word tēviņš, at first a diminutive and form of endearment (“daddy”), now means “male” (animal); the term of endearment for “father” is tētiņš (daddy), from tētis (father). Note that tētis already has more emotional overtones than the more neutral tēvs.

Declension

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See also

References

  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “tēvs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN