āpsis

See also: apsis and Apsis

Latvian

Āpsis

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic; compare Lithuanian opšrùs, Old Prussian wobsdus. The source may be Proto-Indo-European *op- (to do, carry out), from which Latvian regionalism āpēties (work hard) (compare Sanskrit अपः (ápaḥ, work, organizing), Latin opus (work, task)). This name would be justified by the badger's well-made burrows. A parallel case is German Dachs (badger) from Proto-Indo-European *tek- (weave, build).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [âːpsis]
(file)

Noun

āpsis m (2nd declension)

  1. badger (name of several species of mustelids, especially Meles meles)
    āpša ādabadger skin
    āpšu alasbadger burrow
    dzīvot kā āpsim alāto live like a badger in his burrow (= without paying attention to the lives of others)

Declension

References

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