liels

Latvian

Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to decrease, to disappear; thin, slim, slender”) (maybe from the stem *el- (“hungry”)), with an extra suffix -l. The semantic development was probably: “thin, slender” > “long, tall (big in height)” > “remarkable because of size, significance”. A more recent suggestion derives liels from Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”) (again with an extra -l), with the meaning changing from “to pour” > “to even, to smooth (by pouring, casting)” > “to iron, to press” > “to make thin by pressing (e.g., a metal sheet)” > “to extend, increase (by pressing),” from which the meaning “big, large”. Cognates include Lithuanian leĩlas (“thin, slender; thin, watery”), leĩnas (“thin, slender; thin, flexible”) (dialectal liẽlas (“big, large”) is a borrowing from Latvian), Old Prussian lailīsnan (“torture (accusative)”) (> infinitive *lailītwei, in turn from *leil- (“narrow, thin”)), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “small, little”) (from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz), Ancient Greek λειρός (leirós, “smooth, thin, delicate”) (compare λιμός (limós, “hunger, starvation”)).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [līɛ̄ls]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

liels (definite lielais, comparative lielāks, superlative vislielākais, adverb lieli)

1. big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)

   liels trauks ― big bowl

   liels cilvēks, dzīvnieks ― large person, animal

   lielas rokas ― large hands

   liels ezers ― big lake

   liela pilsēta ― large city

2. big, large (being more than the appropriate size)

   kurpes ir par lielām ― the shoes are too big

3. big, large (going a longer distance)

   liels atvēziens ― big swing

4. (of sounds) intense, loud

   mašīnu troksnis bija tik liels, ka cilvēku sarunas tikko varēja sadzirdēt ― the machine noise was so loud that one could hardly hear conversations

5. high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)

   liels ātrums, blīvums, spiediens ― high speed, density, pressure

   liels svars ― great, heavy weight

   liels skaits ― large number, amount

   liels skaitlis ― large number, cipher

   liela peļņa ― large profit

   liela nauda ― large (sum of) money

   liels piena izlaukums ― high milk yield

   liela taukvielu koncentrācija ― high fat concentration

6. used with numerical values (in the accusative)

   simt paskalu liels spiediens ― a pressure of (lit. big of) 100 pascals

   divas tonnas liela masa ― a mass of (lit. big of) two tons

   vienu metru liels diametrs ― a diameter of (lit. big of) one meter

   Andoras republikas teritorija ir 465 kvadrātkilometrus liela ― the territory of the Republic of Andorra is 465 square kilometers (lit. 465 square kilometers big)

7. big, grown-up, adult

   Liene ar Juri izauga lieli ― Liene and Juri grew big (= grew up)

   lielie ļaudis nav slikti, vismaz tādi kā Ilgas vecmāmiņa ― big people (= grown-ups) are not bad, at least those like Ilga's grandmother

8. big, large (having many members;)

   liela ģimene ― large family

9. (of feelings, mental states) big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)

   liels uztraukums, nogurums ― big excitement, tiredness

   lielas bēdas ― great sorrow

   liela mīlestība ― great love

10. big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)

    liels trūkums ― big drawback

    liela nabadzība ― great poverty

    dzīvot lielā pārticībā ― to live in great prosperity

    saņemt lielu dāvanu ― to receive a big present

11. (of events, actions) more intense, with more intense effects

    liels uzbrukums ― large attack

    liela cīņa ― big fight

    lieli svētki ― big holidays, big celebration

12. (of duty, position) important, influential

    liels amats ― great, important position, office

13. (of situations) great, big (offering many possibilities)

    lielas priekšrocības ― great advantages

    liela izvēle ― big choice

14. (of people) great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent

    liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs ― great craftsman, organizer, helper

    liela šuvēja ― great seamstress

    liels grāmatu lāsītājs ― great book reader

    liels makšķernieks ― great fisherman

    liels rakstnieks, gleznotājs, mūziķis, melis ― great writer, painter, musician, storyteller

    liels varonis ― great hero

    lieli draugi ― great friends

15. (of people) big, important, rich

    liels muižnieks ― great lord, gentleman

    liels namīpašnieks ― great landlord

16. (of events, art, time periods) great, major, important, significant, influential

    lielais karš ― the great war

    izvirzīt lielus mērķus ― to identify major goals

    lielais balets ― great ballet

    liels laikmets rada lielu dzeju ― a great era creates great poetry

Declension

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of liels

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	liels	lieli		liela	lielas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	lielu	lielus		lielu	lielas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	liela	lielu		lielas	lielu
dative (datīvs)	lielam	lieliem		lielai	lielām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	lielu	lieliem		lielu	lielām
locative (lokatīvs)	lielā	lielos		lielā	lielās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

Synonyms

• milzīgs, gigantisks
• prāvs

Antonyms

• mazs
• neliels
• sīks

Derived terms

• lielains, lielainums
• lielīgs, lielība
• lielisks, lieliskums
• lielums

Etymology 2

Liels

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to bend”), from the stem *el- (“to bend”), whence also elkonis (“elbow”); compare also laiva (“boat”), leja (“valley”). The original meaning was probably “bending, curvature.” A similar semantic development can be seen in Sanskrit आणिः (āṇiḥ, “leg above knee”) (< *arṇí- < *elni-), Armenian ոլոք (olokʻ, “shinbone”) (< *elok- / *olok-). Another suggestion has liels (“shin, calf (of leg)”) be the nominalized form of the adjective liels (“great, large, big”) with intonational change.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [liɛ̂ls]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

liels m (1st declension)

1. (anatomy) shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)

   tikai nupat viņš sajuta sūrstošas sāpes kreisās kājas lielā ― only then did he feel a sharp pain in his left leg's shin

2. an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

Declension

Declension of liels (1st declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	liels	lieli
accusative (akuzatīvs)	lielu	lielus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	liela	lielu
dative (datīvs)	lielam	lieliem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	lielu	lieliem
locative (lokatīvs)	lielā	lielos
vocative (vokatīvs)	liel	lieli

Synonyms

• (annual hard widening or growth on a tree): lielainums
• apakšstilbs, stilbs
• lielainums