zilonis
Latvian
Zilonis
Etymology
Borrowed from Russian слон (slon) (itself a borrowing from Turkic), made into a 2nd-declension masculine noun (ending -is); the initial z apparently results from the influence of zils (“blue”). This word is first mentioned (as a 1st-declension masculine noun, zilons) in 19th-century dictionaries. It replaced previous borrowings like elevants, elefants, still in use well into the 19th century.[1]
Noun
zilonis m (2nd declension)
- elephant (fam. Elephantidae)
- ziloņu mātīte ― female elephant
- iet kā zilonis ― to walk as an elephant (= heavily, clumsily)
- ziloņu bars ― elephant herd
Declension
Declension of zilonis (2nd declension)
| singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (nominatīvs) | zilonis | ziloņi |
| accusative (akuzatīvs) | ziloni | ziloņus |
| genitive (ģenitīvs) | ziloņa | ziloņu |
| dative (datīvs) | zilonim | ziloņiem |
| instrumental (instrumentālis) | ziloni | ziloņiem |
| locative (lokatīvs) | zilonī | ziloņos |
| vocative (vokatīvs) | ziloni | ziloņi |
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “zilonis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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