vaisla

Latvian

Etymology

From the same stem as viest (“to produce, to cause”) (q.v.), in the a-grade and with an extra -lā. The original meaning was probably “increase” (in an animal group) > “offspring.” Like its Lithuanian cognate, vaisla also previously had the meaning “species,” “variety,” “kind,” before restricting itself to its current semantic range. Cognates include Lithuanian veĩslė (“brood, litter, species, variety”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

vaisla f (4th declension)

1. breed, breeding (the continuation of the species via the production of offspring)

   vaislas bullis ― breeding bull

   vaislas lopu audzēšana ― the raising of breeding animals

   vaislas gatavība ― breading maturity

   vaislas laiks ― breeding time

   vaislas māte ― female animal kept for breeding (lit. brood mother)

2. brood, litter

   divi kucēni no vienas vaislas ― two puppies from the same litter

Declension

Derived terms

• vaislība
• vaislīgs, vaislīgums
• vaislinieks, vaisliniece

Related terms

• vaisloties

References