ugunsgrēks

From uguns (“fire”) +‎ grēks (“sin”). This is an old compound, already attested in 17th-century dictionaries; at that time, grēks did not have its current religious meaning; rather, it meant “misfortune, calamity, disaster,” a meaning still found in folk songs.[1]

ugunsgrēks m (1st declension)

1. (uncontrolled) fire; conflagration

   ugunsgrēka izcelšanās ― fire outbreak

   meža ugunsgrēks ― forest fire

   ugunsgrēka trauksme ― fire alarm

   ugunsgrēka sekas ― consequences of a fire

   dzēst ugunsgrēku ― to extinguish a fire

   iet bojā ugunsgrēkā ― to die in a fire

   deg kādas mājas, un ugunsgrēks met padebešos savu liesmu atspīdumu ― a house was burning, and the fire threw its flaming glare into the clouds

• uguns, ugunskurs

• degšana