sirms

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *širmas, from *ḱr̥-m-os (with a suffix -m), from Proto-Indo-European *ker-, *ḱer-, *ḱr̥- (gray color), whence also sērsna (frozen snow layer) (q.v.). Cognates include Lithuanian šìrmas, šir̃mas, šir̃vas (gray).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sīɾms]

Adjective

sirms (definite sirmais, comparative sirmāks, superlative vissirmākais, adverb sirmi)

  1. (of hair, beard, etc) gray (having become grayish white after losing its original color)
    sirmi mati, grumbaina sejagray hair, wrinkled face
    sirma bārdagray beard
  2. (of people, people's body parts) gray, gray-haired (having gray hair)
    sirms vīrsgray-haired man
    sirma galvagray head
    sirmi deniņigray temples
  3. (of animals, birds) gray (having a light gray or grayish white color, fur, plumage)
    sirma stirnagray doe
    sirma bebrādagray beaver skin, fur
  4. (figuratively) gray, grayish white
    pār Daugavu kūp sirma miglaover the Daugava (river) a gray fog spreads itself
  5. (figuratively) very old, ancient
    sirms vecumsold (lit. gray) age
    nodzīvot sirmu mūžuto live a long (lit. gray) life
    sirmas majasold (lit. gray) houses
    sirmā Rīgaold (lit. gray) Rīga
    sirma senatne, senatnībavery distant past, ancient times (lit. gray antiquity)

Declension

Derived terms

References

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