Latvian

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Apavi

Etymology

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From the same stem as the verb aut (to put on (footwear)): *ap-aw-as > apavs. The original meaning, probably “bandage,” “covering (cloth),” was already often connected to footwear in 17th- and 18th-century texts, though not obligatorily (cf. expressions like kāju apavs “foot apavs” in folk tales). Cognates include Lithuanian ãpavas, Russian обувь (obuvʹ), Czech obuv, Polish obuw.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [apaws]
  • Audio:(file)

Noun

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apavs m (1st declension)

  1. footwear (shoes, boots, sandals, etc.)
    ādas, gumijas apavileather, rubber footwear, shoes
    vasaras, ziemas apavisummer, winter fotwear, shoes
    viegli, smagi apavilight, heavy footwear, shoes
    mājas apavihome, indoor shoes, footwear
    labot apavusto mend, to repair shoes, fotwear
    kurpnieks novietoja kurpi uz plaukta blakus citiem labojamiem apaviemthe cobbler placed the shoe on the shelf, next to the other footwear to be mended
    gaumīgi iekārtotajās veikala telpās vitrinās izvietotas dāždažādu lielumu, fasonu un krāsu kurpes un citi apaviin the indoor showcases of a tastefully decorated shop one places shoes and other footwear of various sizes, styles and colors
    un pēkšņi šķiet: ir apavs caursand suddenly it seemed: the shoe has a hole

Usage notes

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Latvian apavi is more frequently used than English footwear and is often better translated as shoes (cf. Russian обувь (obuvʹ)); the term kāja, usually "leg", "foot", is less frequently used as a synonym. Note also that the plural forms (apavi, etc.) are much more frequently used than the singular forms (apavs, etc.)

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “apavs”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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Note 4