Latvian

Verb

degt intr., 1st conj., pres. degu, dedz, deg, past degu

1. (of objects, substances) to burn (to be consumed by fire)

   degt lēni, strauji‎ ― to burn slowly, quickly

   degt ar spožu liesmu‎ ― to burn with a bright flame

   degt bez dūmiem‎ ― to burn without smoke

   papiross deg‎ ― the cigarette is burning

   māja, pilsēta, mežs deg‎ ― the house, the city, the forest is burning

   malka deg krāsnī‎ ― the firewood is burning in the stove

   slapjie žagari slikti deg‎ ― wet birches burn badly

2. (only 3rd person, of fire itself) to burn

   pakalna vidū neliel ieplakā deg ugunskurs... deg gaiši, līksmi, priecīgi‎ ― in the middle of the hill, in a little hollow place, the campfire is burning... it burns bright, cheerful, happy

   krāsnī gaiši dega uguns, sarkanām mēlēm laizīdama lielās, sausās egļu pagales‎ ― in the stove the fire burned bright, licking the big, dry spruce logs with (its) red tongues

3. (of food, pans, etc.) to burn (to be heated, roasted, baked etc. in excess)

   gaļa deg pannā‎ ― the meat is burning in a pan

   maize krāsnī deg‎ ― the bread is burning in the oven

   panna deg‎ ― the pan is burning

4. (of substances) to burn (to be flammable, to be capable of burning)

   labi deg arī dažu viegli gaistošu šķidrumu: ētera, spirta, acetona, benzola, benzīna un citu‎ ― several volatile fluids also burn well: ether, alcohol, acetone, benzene, gasoline and others

5. (of objects) to burn, to be on (to produce heat and/or light)

   gāzes plīts deg‎ ― the gas stove is burning (= on)

   sērkociņš deg‎ ― the match is burning

   lāpa deg‎ ― the torch is burning (= on)

   uz galda deg tauku svece‎ ― on the table a fat candle was burning

   pazemē šahtā deg dienasgaismas spuldzes‎ ― underground, in the mine, the fluorescent lights are burning (= are on)

   pārbaudīt, vai spuldzes deg‎ ― to check if the light bulb works (lit. burns)

   gaisma deg visās istabās‎ ― the light is on (lit. burning) in all rooms

6. (of heavenly bodies) to burn, to shine brightly, to produce light

   bet augšā deg liela, liela, balta saule, un zilās debesis ir bezgalīgi dziļas un plašas‎ ― but up above a big, big white sun is burning, and the blue sky is infinitely deep and wide

   viņai likās, ka zvaigznes, kas spožas un dzirkstošas dega pie rudens debess, mirkšķina viņai‎ ― it seemed to her that the stars, which were burning (= shining) sparkingly on the autumn sky, were winking at her

7. (of people, their body parts) to burn (to feel an intense feeling of heat, or an intense irritation, intense pain; also metaphorically)

   karstā ūdenī rokas deg‎ ― (one's) hands burn in hot water

   seja deg saulē‎ ― (his) face burns in the sun

   rokas deg no sala‎ ― (his) hands are burning from the frost

   vējā vaigi deg‎ ― (one's) cheeks burn in the cool wind

   vaigi deg aiz kauna‎ ― (one's) cheeks burn with shame

   kad lapsene iedur, tā vieta deg tikpat kā ugunī‎ ― when a wasp stings, the place burns just like fire

   ēšanu vēl varētu paciest, bet slāpes bija neizturamas... mute izkaltusi, un rīkle dega kā izplucināta‎ ― eating could be tolerated, but the thirst was unbearable... the mouth was dry, and the throat burned as if scalded

8. (figuratively, of illnesses, ill people) to burn, to be hot (to have a fever)

   slimais deg kā ugunī‎ ― the sick person was burning as if in a fire (= had a strong fever)

   bērns dega kā uguns un drebēja no sala‎ ― the child was hot like fire and trembled from the cold

   mājās pārbraukusi, degu un karšu... laikam esmu apsaldējusies un man sacēlies drudzis, es domāju un izmērīju temperatūru‎ ― having returned home, I am burning and hot... maybe I've caught a cold and now have a fever, I think and measure (my) temperature

9. (figuratively, colloquial, of hay, grass, etc.) to heat up in humidity, in humid conditions}}

   slapjais siens šķūnī deg‎ ― the wet hay is burning in the barn

   zaļbarība kaudzē deg‎ ― the grass fodder is burning in a pile

10. (figuratively, of people, their feelings) to burn (to feel an emotion very strongly; to desire something very strongly)

    degt ilgās‎ ― to burn with (lit. in) longing, desire

    degt dusmās‎ ― to burn with (lit. in) anger

    degt aizrautībā‎ ― to burn with (lit. in) passion

    degt priekā‎ ― to burn with (lit. in) joy

    degt ziņkārē‎ ― to burn with (lit. in) curiosity

    degtin degt pēc darba‎ ― to burn (= yearn) for work

    viņš deg par moderno mūziku‎ ― he burns (= is enthusiastic) about modern music

    brīvības ilgas dega tautā visu garo verdzības nakti‎ ― the desire for freedom burned in the people all through the long night of slavery

    sejas dega satraukumā, un lūpas bija pavērtas brīvības saucienam‎ ― (their) faces burned with (lit. in) excitement, and (their) lips were open to cries of freedom

    degdams naidā pret latviešu tautas, tās valodas un kultūras noniecinātājiem, Kronvaldu Atis uzbrūk feodālajiem vācu kungiem‎ ― burning with (lit. in) hate against those who belittled the Latvian people, their language and culture, Atis Kronvalds attacked the German feudal lords

    tu sajūti, ka esi dzīvs, ka vari degt par visu jauno‎ ― you feel that you are alive, that you can burn (= yearn) for everything new

11. (figuratively, in the 3rd person, of fights, struggles) to burn (to happen intensely)

    deg nemieri valsts sirdī pašā‎ ― unrest is burning in the very heart of the country

12. (figuratively, in the 3rd person, colloquial) to be urgent, to be in a hurry

    bet es varu pagaidīt; man vēl nedeg‎ ― but I can wait; I am not yet in a hurry (lit. it is not yet burning to me)

    es arī aizskrēju uz upmalu... pabradāju, papeldējos un tūlīt atkal uz mājām... “tu tā bizo? kas tev deg?”‎ ― I also ran to the river bank... I paddle and swim a little and then I go immediately back home. “(why) are you galloping like that? what is burning to you? (= why the hurry?)”

Conjugation

Usage notes

Except in metaphorical uses (“to have a fever,” “to burn with anger,” etc.), degt usually occurs only in the third person.

Synonyms

• kurties

Derived terms

prefixed verbs:

other derived terms:

• dedzināt
• dedzīgs, dedzīgums, dedzība
• degbumba
• degpunkts
• degsme
• degums
• degviela

References

1. ↑ Kim, Ronald (forth.), “The Phonology of Balto-Slavic”, in Jared S. Klein, Brian Joseph, and Matthias Fritz, editors, Comparative Indo-European Linguistics: An International Handbook of Language Comparison and the Reconstruction of Indo-European, Berlin: de Gruyter
2. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “degt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7