vēstule

See also: vēstulē

Latvian

Vēstule

Etymology

A neologism by A. Kronvalds, derived in 1869 from vēstīt (to herald, to announce) (compare vēsts (news)). Its form was influenced by Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ, letter; command, commission; will). Krovanlds proposed other related words (vēstulēties “to correspond, exchange letters,” and also vēstulēšanās, vēstulējums, vēstulība) which did not find acceptance. Before Kronvalds' vēstule, the concept of “letter” was expressed as (rakstīta) grāmata; the term breve (from Italian breve (short writing), from Latin brevis (short); compare German Brief), introduced by the journal Pēterburgas Avīzes (probably by J. Alunāns), did not find acceptance either.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [væ̀ːstulɛ]
(file)

Noun

vēstule f (5th declension)

  1. letter (a written message for someone, especially if sent by mail)
    privāta vēstuleprivate letter
    oficiāla vēstuleofficial letter
    mīlestības vēstulelove letter
    atplēst vēstulito open a letter
    ierakstīta, apdrošināta vēstuleregistered letter
    atklāta vēstuleopen letter (published in a newspaper)
    vēstules nosūtītājs, saņēmējsletter sender, receiver (addressee)

Declension

Synonyms

References

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