lauva

• (archaic form) lavis, lauve

Borrowed from Middle High German louwe (cf. German Löwe), from Proto-Germanic *laujan, a borrowing from Latin leō. It has been suggested, on the basis of Lithuanian liū̃tas (“lion”), Russian лютый (ljutyj) зверь (ljútyj zver’, “beast, lion”), that there was an earlier Slavo-Balto-Germanic term with the root *liu-; if so, this term was lost very early on in Latvian, replaced by the Middle High German borrowing. First mentioned (as lavis, lauve) in 17th-century Bible translations. A family name Louvis is attested from the 16h century.[1]

• IPA^(key): [lāwva]

• Audio

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lauva m or f (4th declension, irregular gender, dative singular)

1. lion in general (Panthera leo)

   lauvu mātīte, lauvene ― female lion, lioness

   dresēt lauvas ― to tame, train lions

   lauvas tiesa ― the lion's share, the biggest part

2. specifically, a male lion

The term lauva is ambigenous. It is masculine when it refers to males and feminine when it refers to females. It is, however, always declined as a feminine noun, with the exception of its dative singular form, which is lauvam when it refers to a male and lauvai when it refers to a female.

• (idiom) zvēru ķēniņš

• Lauva (Zodiac symbol)
• lauvene
• lauvēns
• jūras lauva
• skudrlauva

• → Livonian: louv

• lauvene

lauva n

1. definite plural of lauv

lauva n

1. plural definite of lauv