traks

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *trek-, *trak-, from Proto-Indo-European *terk-, *trek- (to turn), from the stem *ter- (to turn; to rub, to grate (by turning); to drill, to pierce). The meaning probably evolved from “turning, drilling” to “moving quickly” ( > “aggressively”) to “crazy, mad.” Cognates include Lithuanian trãkas (crazy; quick, fast).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [tɾaks]

Adjective

traks (trakais comparative, trakāks superlative, vistrakākais adverb, traki)

  1. (of animals) mad, rabid (affected with rabies)
    traks sunsmad dog (i.e., dog with rabies)
    vesels vilks cilvēkam neuzbrūk, taču vilki saslimst ar trakumsērgu un to arī pārnēsā; tādēļ ir gadījumi, kad traki vilki stipri sakoduši cilvēkusa healthy wolf does not attack a person, but wolves (can) get sick with rabies and transmit it; because of this, there are cases in which mad wolves have severely bitten people
  2. (colloquial) mad, crazy, insane (having mental, psychological problems; behaving as one who has lost his mind; expressing such condition)
    strādā kā traks(he) works like mad (= very intensively)
    trako kreklsmad ones' shirt (= straitjacket)
    trako māja, trako namsmad ones' house (= psychiatric hospital)
    un, kad viņš apprecējās ar latvieti, tad radi pasludinājuši baronu par traku un ielikuši klīnikāand, when he got married to a Latvian woman, then (his) relatives declared that the baron was crazy and put him in a clinic
    nepieminiet man Galileju un Kepleru, kungs! tie vīri ir traki! viņi apgalvo, ka zeme griežoties, lai gan mēs katru mirkli jūtam, ka tā stāv kā pienaglotadon't mention Galileo and Kepler to me, sir! these men are crazy! they affirm that the earth turns, although we feel every minute that it stands (= remains motionless) as if nailed
    Edgars nezina, ko iesākt; nāk virsū traka nervozitāte... uztraukts viņš staigā pa dzīvokliEdgars doesn't know what to say; a crazy nervousness came to him... excitedly he walked around in the apartment
  3. crazy (which acts, behaves, speaks very loud, making noise, being fast, unrestrained; such that it expresses such behavior)
    traka dejacrazy dance
    traka raudāšanacrazy crying
    pēkšņi aprima pat paši trakākie pļāpas un skaļākie ņirgassuddenly even the craziest talks and loudest gossips were silent
    kaprālis sagatavojās trakākam bļāvienam šovakar; pavēra jau mutithe corporal prepared a crazier yell tonight; he has already opened (his) mouth'
    tas ir tāds traks vecums; līdz astoņpadsmitthat is such a crazy age; until eighteen
  4. crazy (daring, reckless, careless; aggressive, turbulent)
    traks braucējscrazy driver
    traks skrējienscrazy race
    traka idejacrazy idea
    tikko pienākušie vīrieši laikam stāstīja agrākajiem par Brīviņu kunga trako braucienurecently arrived men were maybe telling the early (people) about Mr Brīviņš' crazy trip
    uznāk traka vēlēšanās aplikt roku ap meitenes pleciem, noskūpstītthere came a crazy desire to put (his) arm around the girl's shoulders, to kiss her
    Zigis savaldīja trako, neiebraukto ķēviZigis restrained the crazy, untamed mare
  5. (colloquial) crazy (very strong, very intense)
    traka ēstgribacrazy appetite
    traka peļņacrazy (= very big) profits
    bija traka vēlme tikai pieskarties, piedurt pirkstu klavierēm(he) had a crazy desire to touch, to rub (his) fingers on the piano
  6. crazy (very intense, very powerful, having strong effects)
    trakās krāsās izkrāsotas mašīnascars painted in crazy colors
  7. crazy (very strong, very powerful, possibly destructive)
    diena bija karsta kā pašā trakākajā jūlijāthe day was hot as in the craziest (= hottest) July
    laiva tuvojās krācēm; vēl brīdi, un viņi būs ierauti trakā virpulīthe boat was approaching the rapids; one more moment, and they would be dragged into the crazy vortex, whirlpool
  8. (in its adverbial form, as an intensifier) crazily; very, very much, terribly
    traki dārgsvery expensive
    traki skaistsvery beautiful
    viņš liekas traki gudrs vīrs, taisni tāds, kā mums vajadzīgshe seems (to be) a very wise/smart man, exactly what we need
    un tev tik traki gribas aizdot?do you (really) feel so much like lending (money)?
  9. (in its adverbial form, with būt “to be”) crazy (unexpected; undesirable; unpleasant)
    Krauklis iesaucas: “sieva, nu ir traki: pagalmā bruņoti vīri!”Krauklis shouted: “wife, now it's crazy: in the yard (there are) armed men!”
  10. (with uz (on; about)) crazy about (liking, wanting something very much)
    traks uz nauducrazy about money
    kaķis traks uz gaļuthe cat (is) crazy about meat

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • trakot

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), traks”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.