Latvian

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Etymology

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There are diverging opinions on the origin of this word. It may possibly come from Proto-Baltic *grež-, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰreǵ-, *gʰerǵ-, from the stem *gʰer- (to rub, to knead, to grate) with an extra . The semantic evolution would have been: “rubbed” > “polished, shiny” > “beautiful, gorgeous (having external shine, beauty).” Another possibility is that grezns is etymologically related to Russian кра́сный (krásnyj, red; (dial.) beautiful). Some specialists suggest that it may be a borrowing from Slavic. Cognates include Lithuanian gražùs (pretty, beautiful, nice), dialectal grãžnas.[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ɡɾæzns]
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

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grezns (definite greznais, comparative greznāks, superlative visgreznākais, adverb grezni)

  1. (of objects, spaces) splendid, luxurious, magnificent
    grezns tērpsluxurious costume
    greznas rotasmagnificent jewelry
    grezna vāzeluxurious vase
    apskatījām dodžu pili, kuras iekšiene bija pasakaini grezna, rotāta ar slavenu mākslinieku gleznām un freskāmwe visited the doges' palace, the inside of which was incredibly luxurious, decorated with famous artists' paintings and frescoes
  2. rich, luxurious (characterized by wealth; which expresses wealth)
    greznas viesībasluxury party
    viņš kļuva grāmatvedis, kaut gan visvairāk kāroja greznu dzīvihe became an accountant, even though he longed most of all for a luxurious life
  3. (of people) richly, luxuriously dressed
    dāma grezna, balta, stalta, sasprādzēta...a magnificent lady, white, imposing, all buckled up...
  4. beautiful, bright, luxuriant, splendid (having bright colors, a beautiful shape)
    sevišķi skaistas, greznas un neparasti dažādas ir bulgāru rozesthe Bulgarian roses are particularly beautiful, luxuriant and unusually varied

Declension

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “grezns”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN