noteikt

From no- +‎ teikt (“to say, to tell”).

noteikt (transitive, 1st conjugation, present noteicu, noteic, noteic, past noteicu)

1. to say, to state, to declare (with conviction)

   pēc vakariņām saimniece noteica: “nu jāiet gulēt” ― after dinner the lady said: “now (we) should go to bed”

   Nestors noteica, ka viņš neiešot vakarā mājās ― Nestors stated, declared that he was not going home in the evening (i.e., he will continue working)

2. to tell, to state firmly, to determine, to decide (with conviction, applying pressure)

   Māte stingri noteica: “un tā kā neaizmirsti nosūtīt vēstuli viņa mātei”

   Mother firmly stated: “so, don't forget to send a letter to his mother”

   ķēniņš nu Mazajam Pēterim cieti noteica, ja līdz pusdienai tilts nebūšot gatavs, tad likšot tam galvu nocirst ― the king determined, stated to Little Peter that if the bridge wasn't ready by noon, then he would have his head cut off

3. to determine (to choose, to adopt as obligatory, to be enforced, to have force of law)

   noteikt izbraukšanas dienu ― to determine the date of departure

   noteikt grāmatas tirāžu ― to determine the (number of copies in) circulation of a book

   pedagoģiskās padomes sēdēm noteikta viena stunda, bet pārējām apspriedēm tikai pusstunda laika ― for pedagogical council meetings one hour is set, determined, and for other consultations only half an hour

4. to determine, to prescribe (to mark something as necessary, important to someone, to be used by someone; especially a doctor to a patient)

   noteikt slimniekam diētu ― to determine the patient's diet

   apskatījis slimnieku, ārsts noteica tam slimnīcas režīmu ― after examining the patient, the doctor prescribed hospital treatment for him

5. to determine (to be a prerequisite for something, to be a factor on which something depends)

   sacensības kā jau sacensības: rezultātus noteic griba, māka un pules ― competition is competition: will, skill and effort determine the results

   viņu bērnu nākotni noteiks tēvu naudas maku biezums, dzimtas vārds un pašu darbīgums ― the thickness of his father's wallet, the family name and activity (work) will determine the son's future

6. to determine, to establish, to measure, to identify, to clarify

   noteikt ceļa garumu ― to determine the length of the road

   noteikt debespuses ― to determine the cardinal points

   noteikt auga sugu ― to determine, to identify the plant species

   noteikt augsnes sastāvu ― to determine the soil composition

   noteikt koka vecumu ― to determine the age of a tree

   un kas var īsti precīzi noteikt, cik ilgs laiks ziedots vienam vai otram darbam? ― and who can really precisely determine how much time (was) dedicated to this or that (literary) work?

The verbs nosacīt and noteikt seem to be near-perfect synonyms. Note, however, that the present tense forms of noteikt are often not used; the corresponding forms of nosacīt are much more frequent.

• nosacīt

• noteikums