strēle

See also: strele and strēlē

Latvian

Strēles (1)
Zibens strēle (3)
Zemes strēle (5)

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *strel-, *strēl-, from *ster- (line, streak, stripe; jet, spurt; beam) (whence also Latvian stars (ray, beam), q.v.) with an extra l. The same stem also yielded the 17th-/18th-century verb strēlēt (to shoot), later replaced by šaut (to shoot). The basic meaning must have been “to scatter, to throw (around)”, from which “to shoot” and, as a nominalized form, “that which is shot.” Cognates include Lithuanian strėlė̃, strėlà (arrow; shoot, branch; rafter), Old Church Slavonic стрѣла (strěla), Belarusian, Bulgarian, Russian стрела (strelá), Ukrainian стріла (strilá, arrow), Czech střela (arrow, projectile), Polish strzała (arrow), Old High German strāla (arrow, lightning bolt), German Strahl (ray, beam).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [stɾɛ̂ːlɛ]

Noun

strēle f (5th declension)

  1. (chiefly figuratively) arrow, dart (projectile thrown with a bow)
    traucas kā izšauta strēlespeeding, rushing like an arrow (lit. like a shot arrow)
  2. arrow (a component part that is thin and long, usually used for pointing)
    pa skalu slīd strēle, norādīdama iegrimes dziļumualong the scale the arrow moved, showing the depth of the sinking
    kad Lilija pēdējo reizi paraudzījās pulkstenī, zeltītās strēles iezīmēja ceturksni uz deviņiemwhen Lilija last looked at the clock, the golden arrows showed a quarter of nine
  3. something narrow and elongated like an arrow
    ledus gan plaisāja sīkās strēlēs, tomēr izturējathe ice did crack in tiny arrows, but it held, endured
  4. (of light) beam, ray
    putekļi vērpās saules strēlēs, kas staroja iekšā pa loguthe dust was spinning under (lit. in) the sun rays which shone in through the window
    kā ugunīga pātaga tumsu pārcirta zibens strēle — like a fiery whip, the lightning bolt (lit. arrow, ray) cut thourgh the dakrness
  5. (of gas, fog, smoke) narrow, elongated formation, strip
    pāri debesīm traucās melnas mākoņu strēles, brīžiem aizsegdamas mēnesiacross the sky rushed black cloud strips, sometimes hiding the moon
    zilganas dūmu strēles peldēja pāri ievu krūmiembluish smoke strips floated across the cherry bushes
  6. (of land, territory) strip, stretch (narrow, elongated area)
    zemes, smilšu strēlea strip of land, of sand
    tāda bija jūrmala šai ciemā: šaura krasta strēlesuch was the seaside at (= near) this village: a narrow stretch of coast
  7. (technology) jib, boom (the projecting arm of a crane)
    līgani pagriezās celtņa strēlesmoothly turned the crane jib, boom

Usage notes

The preferred term for "arrow" as a weapon is bulta, while strēle is more frequently used metaphorically, or when talking about pointing signs or component parts.

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

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