lietus

See also: lietūs

Latvian

Lietus

Lietus

Etymology

From the same stem as Latvian liet (“to pour”) and līt (“to flow, to stream, to rain”) (q.v.), made into a masculine third declension noun (with ending -us); from Proto-Balto-Slavic *l(e/o)ʔi-, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European root *ley- (“to flow, pour, stream; to glide, slip, be slippery”). Cognates include Lithuanian lietùs (“rain”), lytùs, líeti (“to pour”), laĩvas (“ship”), and likely the names of Latvia and Lithuania. More distantly related are Old Church Slavonic лити (liti, “to pour”) (< Proto-Slavic *lìti), Albanian lisë (“I pour”), Proto-Germanic *līþu (“cider ~ liquor”), Proto-Celtic *liyeti (“to flow”), Ancient Greek ἄλεισον (áleison, “wine container”), and perhaps λάταξ (látax, “drop”), Old Irish laith (“liquid; ale, liquor”) (< Proto-Celtic *lati-), Latin litus (“shore, beach”), and various descendants of Proto-Indo-European *lewh₃- (“to wash”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [liɛ̂tus]

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

lietus m (3rd declension)

1. rain, shower; rainwater

   pavasara lietus ― spring rain, shower

   garie rudens lietus ― long autumn rain

   spēcīgs lietus ― heavy rain

   īslaicīgs lietus ― short-term rain

   Lietus bungo pa jumtu. ― The rain is drumming on the roof.

   Lietus līst. ― It (lit. rain) is raining.

   Lietus līņā, smidzina. ― It (lit. rain) is drizzling.

   lietus ūdens ― rainwater

   lietus lāses ― raindrops

   Lietus pil no jumta. ― The rain(water) is dripping from the roof.

   lietus mākoņi ― rain clouds

   lietus mētelis, lietusmētelis ― rain coat

   Caur pelēcīgo lietus plīvuru parādās kravas automobilis. ― Through the grayish veil of rain a truck (lit. cargo automobile) appeared.

   Viņi bija lietū ieecējuši auzas. ― They had begun to harrow the oats in the rain (= while it was raining).

2. (in the plural) rains, rainy period

   Pēc lielajiem lietiem sākās labības pļauja. ― After the big rains began the cereal harvest.

3. (figuratively) rain (a rain-like group of small moving objects; a large number of similar things)

   zvaigžņu lietus ― star rain (= meteor shower)

   dzirksteļu lietus ― spark rain (= many sparks)

   ložu lietus ― bullet rain (e.g., from a machine gun)

   Priedēs iespurdz vējš, un uz ceļa nolīst ziedputekšņu lietus. ― The wind began to flutter in the pine trees, and a rain of pollen fell (lit. rained) on the road.

Declension

Declension of lietus (3rd declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	lietus	lieti
genitive (ģenitīvs)	lietus	lietu
dative (datīvs)	lietum	lietiem
accusative (akuzatīvs)	lietu	lietus
instrumental (instrumentālis)	lietu	lietiem
locative (lokatīvs)	lietū	lietos
vocative (vokatīvs)	lietus	lieti

Synonyms

• (of "rainy period"): lietavas

Derived terms

• lietains
• lietavas
• lietussargs

Related terms

• līt, liet

See also

• auka
• gāze
• vētra

Lithuanian

Lietus

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *leitus, from Proto-Indo-European *ley-, *lī- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”); see Latvian lietus for cognates.

Pronunciation 1

• IPA^(key): [ljɛˈtʊs]

Noun

lietùs m (plural líetūs) stress pattern 3

1. rain

Declension

Declension of lietùs

	singular (vienaskaita)	plural (daugiskaita)
nominative (vardininkas)	lietùs	líetūs
genitive (kilmininkas)	lietaũs	lietų̃
dative (naudininkas)	líetui	lietùms
accusative (galininkas)	líetų	líetus
instrumental (įnagininkas)	lietumì	lietumìs
locative (vietininkas)	lietujè	lietuosè
vocative (šauksmininkas)	lietaũ	líetūs

Derived terms

• lietaus lašas

Related terms

• lietingas
• lietpaltis
• lietuvis
• liūtis

Pronunciation 2

• IPA^(key): [ˈlijɛtʊs]

Noun

líetus m pl

1. accusative plural of lietus

Further reading

• “lietus”, in Lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of the Lithuanian language], lkz.lt, 1941–2025
• “lietus”, in Dabartinės lietuvių kalbos žodynas [Dictionary of contemporary Lithuanian], ekalba.lt, 1954–2025