ezers

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *eźera- (“lake”), from Proto-Indo-European *eǵʰerom (“lake”), from the stem *eǵʰ- (“border”) (whence also Latvian eža, q.v.). The meaning change, from “border” to “lake,” is probably motivated by the fact that lakes were often used as markers of the border between separate regions. Cognates include Lithuanian ẽžeras, Old Prussian assaran ([azaran]), Sudovian ziro (< *eziro < *ezero), Proto-Slavic *ezero (Old Church Slavonic ѥзєро (jezero), Russian, Ukrainian о́зеро (ózero), Belarusian во́зера (vózjera), Bulgarian ѐзеро (ѐzero), Czech jezero, Polish jezioro.[1]

• IPA^(key): [æzæɾs]

ezers m (1st declension)

1. lake (large natural body of freshwater surrounded by land)

   Sīvera ezers ― lake Sīvers

   jūras piekrastes ezers ― coastal lake

   ieapaļš, izstiepts ezers ― roundish, stretched lake

   šaurs, dziļš ezers ― narrow, deep lake

   rāms ezers ― serene lake

   peldēties, zvejot ezerā ― to swim, to fish in a lake

   ezeru nogulumi ― lake sediments

   ezeriem bagāts apvidus ― a region rich in lakes

   te tumšāks, te gaišāks, te noslēpumaini spulgodams, te kūpēdams miglā, ceļa malā dus ezers ― by the road side there lay a lake, here darker, there lighter, here mysteriously reflective, there clouded in fog