milzis

Latvian

FWOTD – 9 January 2014
Milzis (1)

Etymology

Derived from the verb milzt (to swell, to grow, to increase), present tense melzu, from Proto-Baltic *melž-, *milž-, from Proto-Indo-European *melǵʰ, *ml̥ǵʰ-, from a stem *mel- (big, strong), whence also Latvian dialectal milns (many, much, a lot), Ancient Greek μάλα (mála, very, a lot), perhaps Latin melior (better). Cognates include Lithuanian mil̃žinas.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [mîlzis]
(file)

Noun

milzis m (2nd declension, feminine form: milze)

  1. (folklore, mythology) giant (very large, supernaturally strong being)
    ļauns milzisevil giant
    milža spēksa giant's strength
    milžu cīņafight, clash of giants
    milzis skatījās uz puiku kā suns uz skudru, kura rāpo viņam starp izstieptām ķepāmthe giant looked at the boy like a dog at an ant that crawls between his outstretched legs
  2. giant (very large person, animal or plant)
    vislielākais milzis bijis 2,8 metru augumāthe largest giant was 2.8 meters tall
    ozols bija īsts milzisthe oak was a real giant
    vilku milzisgiant wolf, wolf giant
  3. (figuratively) giant (extraordinarily talented person, above others in the same field of activity)
    gara milzisartistic (lit. spiritual) giant (= outstanding artist)
    Mēdeja - viens no sarežģītākajiem sieviešu tēliem... antīkās dramaturģijas milža Eiripīda traģēdijāMedea is one of the most complex female characters... in the tragedy by Euripides, the giant of ancient dramaturgy
    sevišķi tuvas attiecības Čehovam izveidojas ar Maksimu Gorkiju, Ļevu Tolstoju un citiem tā laika gara milžiemTchekov estrablished especially close relations with Maksim Gorki, Lev Tolstoy and other contemporary spiritual giants
  4. giant (a very large object, building, mountain, etc.)
    Āfrikas milzis KilimandžāroKilimanjaro, the giant of Africa
    kombināts nodrošina ar sērskābi visas Bulgārijas rūpniecības nozares... šo rūpniecības milzi uzcēla vienā gadāthe plant will provide the whole Bulgarian industrial sector with sulphuric acid... this industrial giant was built in one year
  5. (astronomy) giant (very large star with high absolute luminosity)
    sarkanie milžired giants

Declension

Synonyms

Antonyms

  • (of "large mythical being"): rūķis
  • (of "very large person"): punduris
  • (of "very large star"): punduris, pundurzvaigzne

Derived terms

References

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