tornis

tornis

1. second-person singular present subjunctive form of tornar

tornīs

1. dative plural of tornus
2. ablative plural of tornus

Borrowed from Middle Low German torn or Middle Dutch toorn or an East Frisian word (compare West Frisian toer; also compare German Turm), itself a borrowing, via Old Frisian torn, from Latin turris (accusative turrem). A dialectal German form Turn, borrowed as turnis, would in the Kurzeme dialects yield tornis (with [uo]). This word is first mentioned in 17th-century dictionaries.[1]

• IPA^(key): [tūōrnis]

tornis m (2nd declension)

1. tower (tall, cylindrical or similarly shaped structure in a building)

   baznīcas, pils tornis ― church, castle tower

   skatu, novērošanas tornis ― observation tower

   ugunsdzēsēju tornis ― fire tower

   televīzijas tornis ― television tower

   cietokšņa tornis ― fortress tower

   vadības tornis ― control tower

   koka, tērauda tornis ― wooden, steel tower

   dzelzsbetona tornis ― reinforced concrete tower

   torņa augša ― top of the tower

   torņa pulkstenis ― tower clock

2. tank, silo (large vertical building used to store grain)

   skābbarības tornis ― silo (lit. silage tower)

3. (chess) rook (chess piece shaped like a castle tower)

   iesaistīt torni spēlē ― to involve, employ the rook in the game