strādnieks

Latvian

Etymology

Probably from strād(āt) (“to work”) +‎ -nieks. It is also possible that it was derived from an older (and still dialectally attested) noun strāda (“harvest time”), probably a borrowing from Russian dialectal страда (strada, “time of heavy (farm) work; heavy (farm) work”). Originally the meaning of strādnieks was “one who works well, hard,” and referred mostly to farm work. The current meaning “worker (in general)” started in the mid-19th century, especially in writings published in the newspaper “Peterburgas Avīze.”

Noun

strādnieks m (1st declension, feminine form: strādniece)

1. (male) worker, workman, laborer (a man, person who with his or her work produces something material or cultural)

   čakls strādnieks ― hard-working laborer

   teicams strādnieks ― excellent worker

   garīga darba strādnieks ― clerical worker

   vairums iedzīvotāju bija vienkārši gadījuma strādnieki, kas dzīvoja, tā sakot, no rokas mutē ― the majority of the inhabitants were simply casual laborers, workers, who lived, so to speak, from hand to mouth

2. (male) worker, workman (a man, person who, under a contract of employment, works (e.g., in industry), usually directly in contact with the object being produced)

   strādnieku šķira ― working (lit. workers') class

   strādnieku meistarības konkurss ― workers' skills competition

   strādnieku ciemats ― workers' village

   Māra nāca no vienkāršas strādnieku ģimenes ― Māra came from a simple worker family

Declension

Declension of strādnieks (1st declension)

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	strādnieks	strādnieki
accusative (akuzatīvs)	strādnieku	strādniekus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	strādnieka	strādnieku
dative (datīvs)	strādniekam	strādniekiem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	strādnieku	strādniekiem
locative (lokatīvs)	strādniekā	strādniekos
vocative (vokatīvs)	strādniek	strādnieki

Related terms

• strādāt
• strādīgs, strādīgums