salns

Latvian

Etymology

The world seems to be derived from the same source as salna (frost) (q.v.): the verb salt (to freeze) (q.v.); the meaning change parallels that of sarma (frost), sirms (gray). But it is also possible that salns either came from, or was influenced by, Proto-Indo-European *sal- (dirty gray) via Proto-Baltic *sal- (whence also sāls (salt), q.v.); cf. Russian соловый (solóvyj, yellowish horse with light tail and mane), Old High German salo (dirty gray), Old English salu (dirty gray), Middle Dutch salu, zalu, zaluw (pale yellow; dirty), Dutch zaluw (dark yellow).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sâlns]

Adjective

salns (salnais comparative, salnāks superlative, vissalnākais adverb, salni)

  1. (of animal, especially horse, hair) roan-colored (having the kind of color created by even mixture of white and colored hairs)
    salna ķēveroan mare
    Mārcis piekļāva galvu salnā kumeļa krēpēmMārcis pressed (his) head in (= against) the roan colt's mane
    salnais sāk rikšotthe roan one (= horse) started trotting, cantering
  2. (of other entities) having a color similar to that of a roan horse
    pavasaros zaļš un skaļš, ziemās salnsin spring green and noisy, in winter roan (= whitish brown)
    debesīs auļo mākoņi salniin the sky roan (= whitish brown) clouds gallop
  3. (figuratively, of people's hair) grayish
    tīk, netīk melnu matu zīds, / bet cienām galvu salnuthe silk of black hair (= younger people) may please or not please / but we respect a roan (= grayish) head (= older people)
    dzirdot jaunās atraitnes skumji priecīgo balsi, viņa salnajā bārdā noritēja dažas asarashearing the sadly joyful voice of the young widow, a few tears moved in his roan (= grayish) beard

Declension

References

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