valsts

Latvian

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valsts

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Alternative forms

• (dialectal form) valste, valdzs

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *walˀstís, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂wolh₁dʰh₁-ti-s, from *h₂welh₁dʰh₁-, from *h₂welh₁- (“to rule”). Morphologically from valdīt (“to reign, to rule”) (*vald-tis > *valstis > valsts; compare dialectal form valdzs).

The original meaning was “power, domination”; by the 18th century, this had been changed to “parish, fief, administrative district”, with significant geographic variation well into the 19th century. Only in the 20th century did the current meaning become stable. Cognates include Lithuanian val̃sčius (“district, parish, township”) (< *vald-tius, dialectal val̃stis), valstýbė (“country, state”), Proto-Slavic *volstь (“possession”) from *volsti (“to reign, to rule”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

valsts f (6th declension)

1. state, country (a sovereign polity with a government; the territory of this polity)

   demokratiska, monarhiska valsts ― democratic, monarchic state

   valsts vara ― state power

   valsts teritorija ― country (lit. state territory)

   valsts galva ― head of state

   valsts pārvalde ― government (lit. state administration)

   valsts iekšējās lietas ― a country's internal affairs

   valsts iestāde ― public (lit. state) authority

   valsts budžets ― state budget

   valsts īpašums ― state property

   valsts monopols ― state monopoly

   valsts valoda ― official (lit. state) language

   valsts sekretārs, kanclers ― secretary, chancellor of state

   valsts drošība ― state security

   Baltijas valstis ― Baltic countries

   nepievienojušās valstis ― developing countries

   Amerikas Savienotās Valstis ― United States of America

2. (taxonomy) kingdom (one of the highest divisions in the classification of living beings)

   augu valsts ― plant kingdom

   dzīvnieku valsts ― animal kingdom

Declension

Derived terms

• Amerikas Savienotās Valstis
• starpvalstu

References