Borrowed from Russian слон (slon) (itself probably a borrowing from Turkic), made into a 2nd-declension masculine noun (ending -is); the initial z apparently results from the influence of zils (“blue”). This word is first mentioned (as a 1st-declension masculine noun, zilons) in 19th-century dictionaries. It replaced previous borrowings like elevants, elefants, still in use well into the 19th century.[1]
zilonis m (2nd declension)
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | zilonis | ziloņi |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | ziloni | ziloņus |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | ziloņa | ziloņu |
dative (datīvs) | zilonim | ziloņiem |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | ziloni | ziloņiem |
locative (lokatīvs) | zilonī | ziloņos |
vocative (vokatīvs) | ziloni | ziloņi |