lūsis

See also: lusis, lūšis, and Lūsis

Latvian

Lūsis

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *lū́ˀśis, from Proto-Indo-European *lewḱ- (“lynx”), apparently a parallel form of *lewk- (“bright; to shine”) (whence Latvian lauks “field,” q.v.).

The animal was probably named after its glowing eyes and sharp vision, or perhaps because of its whitish fur. Cognates include Lithuanian lū́šis, Old Prussian luysis (uy maybe [ū] or [uʲ]), Russian рысь (rysʹ), Czech rys, Polish ryś, Proto-Germanic *luhs(u)- (Old High German luhs, German Luchs), Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), Old Armenian լուսանունք pl (lusanunkʻ)

Pronunciation

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Noun

lūsis m (2nd declension)

1. lynx (several species of medium-sized wildcats of the genus Lynx)

   Pēc 2005. gada datiem Kurzemē un Vidzemē mīt apmēram 700 ziemeļu lūšu ― according to 2005 data, in Kurzeme and Vidzeme there are about 700 northern (= Eurasian) lynxes

   vismazākie lūšu ģintī ir rūsganais lūsis (Lynx rufus) un Kanādas lūsis (Lynx canadensis) ― the smallest (species) in the lynx genus are the bobcat (lit. russet lynx, Lynx rufus) and the Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)

Declension

Declension of lūsis (2nd declension)

	singular	plural
nominative	lūsis	lūši
genitive	lūša	lūšu
dative	lūsim	lūšiem
accusative	lūsi	lūšus
instrumental	lūsi	lūšiem
locative	lūsī	lūšos
vocative	lūsi	lūši