ērts

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See also: erts, ERTs, and érts

Latvian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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Originally the past participle *ērtas of a Proto-Baltic verb *ērti (to loosen; to crumble) (compare Lithuanian iterative érdėti (to crumble)), from Proto-Indo-European *er- (loose, light, rare, sparse; to fail, to crumble, to disintegrate) (whence also Latvian irt (to crumble), q.v.). The meaning changed from “crumbling; loose” to “loose(ly fit),” “unencumbering,” “comfortable.” Cognates include Lithuanian er̃tas (wide, comfortable).[1]

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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ērts (definite ērtais, comparative ērtāks, superlative visērtākais, adverb ērti)

  1. comfortable, convenient (which can be carried out easily, unencumbered by problems or hindrances, undisturbed)
    lai būtu ērtāk strādāt, Ferdinands nometās laivā uz ceļiemso that it would be more convenient, comfortable to work, Ferdinands set off on a boat
  2. comfortable, cosy (activity, situation, place, object (e.g., article of clothing) such that it gives this feeling of freedom and well-being)
    ērts dzīvokliscomfortable, cosy apartment
    ērtas istabascomfortable, cosy rooms
    ērts krēslscomfortable chair
    ērti svārkicomfortable skirt
  3. convenient, handy (simple, easy, expedient, not difficult to use)
    ērts satiksmes līdzeklisconvenient means of transportation
  4. (especially in the adverbial form, with the verb būt (to be)) convenient; adequate; polite
    nebūs ērti traucēt inženieri darbā; viņš droši vien ļoti aizņemtsit won't be adequate, polite to disturb the engineer in (his) work; he is probably very busy

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ērts”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN