žoklis

Latvian

Žokļi

Etymology

The origin of this word is not clear. Some connect it with žaunas (“branchiae”), from Proto-Baltic *žyuo-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵ(y)ew-, *ǵyow- (“to chew, to chaw”); others compare it with žāklis (“pitchfork”) (cf. the archaic term žokla (“pitchfork”)). The latter comparison is more likely to be true.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ʒuôklis]

Noun

žoklis m (2nd declension)

1. (anatomy) jaw (facial bone which supports the teeth; area of the face where this bone is located)

   apakšējais, augšējais žoklis ― lower, upper jaw

   žokļa kauls ― jaw bone

   spēcīgi žokļi ― strong jaws

   plati atplest žokļus ― to open one's jaws wide

   kustināt žokļus ēdot ― to move (one's) jaws (while) eating

   cilvēkam pilnā zobu rindā katrā žoklī ir 16 zobu, tātad pavisam 32 ― people have in every jaw a set of 16 teeth, i.e., in total 32

2. (of animals) jaw (the corresponding structure in other animals)

   zivs muti norobežo kaula žokļi; žokļos ir sīki, atpakaļ atliekti zobiņi, kas ļoti labi noder barības notveršanai ― a fish's mouth is delimited by the jaw bones; in the jaws (there) are small, back-curved denticles, which are very useful for capturing food

3. (technology) jaw-like component in a machine, tool, etc., for catching, holding or compressing something

   drupinātajā žoklis ― crusher jaw

   beidzot ekskavatora kausa žokļi paveras, grants smagi noplakšķ kravas kastē ― finally the excavator bucket jaws opened, (and) the gravel splattered heavily in the cargo box

Declension

Declension of žoklis (2nd declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	žoklis	žokļi
accusative (akuzatīvs)	žokli	žokļus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	žokļa	žokļu
dative (datīvs)	žoklim	žokļiem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	žokli	žokļiem
locative (lokatīvs)	žoklī	žokļos
vocative (vokatīvs)	žokli	žokļi