īlens

See also: ilens

Latvian

Īlens

Etymology

Traditionally, this word is seen as borrowed from Gothic 𐌴𐌻𐌰 (ēla, “awl”), perhaps via Old Prussian ylo (“awl”). The Gothic e was very narrow (tense), so it was replaced by ī when borrowed. This loanword is first mentioned in 17th-century dictionaries. A more recent theory, however, connects īlens to ilknis (“fang, tusk”), ilkss (“shaft”), and with Hittite illuyanka (“dragon; snake”), where il- apparently refers to something sharp (fang, horn, stinger), in which case īlens might be a retention rather than a borrowing, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *eil-, *il-, *īl-, from *ei-, *h₁ei- (“sharp, pointed”), via a probable Proto-Baltic *īl- +‎ -ens.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [īːlæns]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

īlens m (1st declension)

1. awl (pointed instrument for piercing small holes)

   izdurt caurumus ar īlenu ― to pierce, prick holes with an awl

   ass ka īlens ― sharp as an awl

   dur kā ar īlenu ― it pierces as if with an awl (e.g., sharp pain)

Declension

Declension of īlens (1st declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	īlens	īleni
accusative (akuzatīvs)	īlenu	īlenus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	īlena	īlenu
dative (datīvs)	īlenam	īleniem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	īlenu	īleniem
locative (lokatīvs)	īlenā	īlenos
vocative (vokatīvs)	īlen	īleni