biedēklis

From biedē(t) (“to scare, to frighten”) +‎ -klis, apparently via a form *biedētlis.[1]

biedēklis m (2nd declension)

1. an object, an image that causes fear, with which one tries to scare people or animals away

   putnu biedēklis ― scarecrow (lit. bird-scarer)

   viņš jau izskatās pēc biedēkļa ― he looks like a scarecrow

   ļaudis lika pie cāļiem, pīlēniem un zoslēniem bērnus par sargiem, kuriem bija uzdots nelaist vārnas tuvumā... kur nebija bērnu, tur ar viltu taisīja biedēkļus, lai vismaz notālēm izskatītos, ka te nolikti bērni ― people had children guard chicks, ducklings and gooselings, with the task of not letting crows come close... where there were no children, they craftly made scarecrows, so that it would look from a distance as if there were children there

2. a specter, a ghost, a scary creature

   kailu galvu viņam jāstāv un jāskatās priestera liekulīgajā komēdijā... viņam, kam dievs un elle, un visi biedēkļi sen vairs tikai tukša skaņa! ― bareheaded, he had to stand and look at the priest's hypocritical comedy... he, to whom god and hell, and all scary creatures had long become only empty sounds!

   rītausmā Melnā Muiža kā biedēlis rēgojās pret balti apsarmojušo mežu ― at dawn, the Black Manor loomed against the white-frosted forest like a ghostly creature