stīvs

Latvian

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle High German stīf, or from Old Frisian stīf, or from Middle Dutch stijf, all meaning “stiff, firm, immobile, hard, strong” (cf. German steif, English stiff). First mentioned in 18th-century dictionaries, stīvs has replaced stingrs in some of its meanings.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [stīːws]

Adjective

stīvs (stīvais comparative, stīvāks superlative, visstīvākais adverb, stīvi)

  1. (of people, animals, their body parts) stiff, hard, numb (having lost, partially or totally, the flexibility of motion, because of, e.g., the effects of low temperature)
    stīva locītavastiff joint
    stīvs pirkstsstiff finger
    stīva kājastiff leg
    viņam bija grūti saliekt savu stīvo muguru, bet, sāpes pārvarot, viņš liecāshe found it difficult to bend his stiff back, but, overcoming the pain, he bowed
  2. (of corpses) rigid, stiff
    rokas mirušajam pārāk ātri palikušas stīvas, tikai līdz vēderam tās varēja saliektthe hands of the deceased have become rigid too quickly, one could bend them only as far as the abdomen
    Alise pavandīja aizgalda stūrī salmus un atrada meklēto: sivēns bija beigts, jau stīvsAlise rummaged the straw in the corners of the pen and found what she was looking for: the piglet was finished (= dead), already stiff, rigid
  3. (of movements, states) stiff, rigid (without flexibility, elasticity, softness; not free, pressured; with little or no motion; without expressivity)
    stīva gaitastiff gait, pace
    stīvi ietto go, walk stiffly, rigidly
    bet cik skatiens jums stiklaini stīvs!but how glassy stiff is your stare!
    kājas stīvi cilādami, vīri dodas vakariņotstiffly, rigidly lifting (their) legs, the men go to have dinner
  4. (of activities) stiff, rigid, stilted (not lively or vibrant, without enthusiasm, artificial; also, clumsy, inefficient)
    sākās lekcija: stīva un sausa...the lecture started: stiff and dry...
    sākumā sabiedrība diezgan stīva... bet, kad uz galda parādījās kafija un liķieris, garastāvoklis strauji cēlasat first, the group (of people) was pretty stiff'... but, when the coffee and liqueur appeared on the table, the mood soon improved (lit. rose, went up)
  5. (of fabric, cloth) stiff, rigid (difficult to ply or fold, usually because of its density, or the pressure on it)
    stīvs audumsstiff, rigid fabric
    audumi dažādi: no mīkstiem slīdošiem atlasiem un krepiem līdz kokaini stīvam taftamvarious (kind of) fabric: from the soft sliding silks and crepes to the wooden, stiff taffeta

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • stīvēt, stīvēties

References

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