kurpnieks

Latvian

Kurpnieks

Etymology

From kurpe (shoe) + -nieks. An old formation, it was the example on the basis of which J. Alunāns suggested using the suffix -nieks more broadly to derive names of craftsmen.[1]

Pronunciation

(file)

Noun

kurpnieks m (1st declension, feminine form: kurpniece)

  1. (male) cobbler, shoemaker (craftsman who makes or repairs shoes, boots, sandals and other footwear)
    kurpnieku darbnīcacobbler workshop
    kurpnieku meistars, māceklismaster, apprentice cobbler
    viņa skatījās uz manām kurpēm un teica, ka būšot drīz jau cauras, vajagot pie laika dot kurpniekamshe looked at my shoes and said that they would soon have holes and (that) it would be necessary to take (lit. give) them to the cobbler's
  2. (usually in the plural) a game in which there is a dialogue between the participants and a person in the middle, at the end of which the person in the middle drops a stick and everybody changes places
    iet kurpniekosto play this game (lit. to go in the cobblers)
    pa vakariem visi gāja kurpniekos un citās rotaļāsin the evenings everybody played (lit. went in the) cobblers and other games

Usage notes

The usual term for “cobbler” is kurpnieks; apavnieks is rare or official.

Declension

Synonyms

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), kurpe”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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