žirgts

Latvian

Etymology

From a (no longer extant) verb žirgt (“to liven up, to fresehn up”) (the r follows the pattern of stingt (“to harden, stiffen”), stingrs (“firm, strong, strict”)), from Proto-Baltic *žirgt(e)y, from *žerg-, *žirg-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to shine, to glow”) with an extra -g (without this -g, this stem yielded Lithuanian žìrti (“to sparkle”)). In Latvian, the Proto-Baltic initial ž was conserved, maybe for onomatopoeic expressive reasons; note that the (possibly) related term zirgs (“horse”) has the expected initial z. The meaning changed from “(that which) shines, glows” to “happy, cheerful, joyous” and finally “lively, brisk, alert.”

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʒīɾkts]

Adjective

žirgts (definite žirgtais, comparative žirgtāks, superlative visžirgtākais, adverb žirgti)

1. lively, vivacious, brisk, sprightly, healthy, active, alert (having strength and vitality; being ready for action)

   slimnieks šodien ir itin žirgts ― the patient is quite lively today

   žirgts kumeļš, teļš ― brisk, sprightly colt, calf

   Laimdotas māte vēl bija gluži žirgta, taču ne pārāk steidzīga ― Laimdota's mother was still quite sprightly, but not very hasty

   mazie, žirgtie pīlēni pēkstēdami veikli skraida viņai pakaļ ― the small, vivacious little ducklings deftly ran after her (= their mother)

2. lively, vivacious, brisk, sprightly, healthy, active, alert (expressing such qualities; compatible with, predisposing to, such qualities)

   žirgtas acis ― lively, vivacious eyes

   ar žirgtu smaidu ― with a vivacious smile

   no televizora skanēja hokeja komentētāja žirgtā balss ― the hokey commentator's lively voice resounded from the TV set

   sniegs ir drusku piesalis, un žirgtais baltums piedod ielām un parkiem sen neredzētu tīru gaišumu ― the snow had frozen a little, and the vivacious whiteness gave the streets and parks a clean brightness that had not been seen for a long time

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of žirgts

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	žirgts	žirgti		žirgta	žirgtas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	žirgtu	žirgtus		žirgtu	žirgtas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	žirgta	žirgtu		žirgtas	žirgtu
dative (datīvs)	žirgtam	žirgtiem		žirgtai	žirgtām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	žirgtu	žirgtiem		žirgtu	žirgtām
locative (lokatīvs)	žirgtā	žirgtos		žirgtā	žirgtās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Synonyms

• (of "active"): aktīvs, darbīgs, kustīgs, rosīgs
• (of "lively", "alert"): dzīvs, modrs, možs, mundrs, spirgts

Derived terms

• žirgtums

Related terms

• zirgs