Latvian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [līɛ̄ls]

Adjective

liels (def. lielais, comp. lielāks, sup. vislielākais; adv. lieli)

1. big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)

   liels trauks‎ ― big bowl

   liels cilvēks, dzīvnieks‎ ― large person, animal

   lielas rokas‎ ― large hands

   liels ezers‎ ― big lake

   liela pilsēta‎ ― large city

2. big, large (being more than the appropriate size)

   kurpes ir par lielām‎ ― the shoes are too big

3. big, large (going a longer distance)

   liels atvēziens‎ ― big swing

4. (of sounds) intense, loud

   mašīnu troksnis bija tik liels, ka cilvēku sarunas tikko varēja sadzirdēt‎ ― the machine noise was so loud that one could hardly hear conversations

5. high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)

   liels ātrums, blīvums, spiediens‎ ― high speed, density, pressure

   liels svars‎ ― great, heavy weight

   liels skaits‎ ― large number, amount

   liels skaitlis‎ ― large number, cipher

   liela peļņa‎ ― large profit

   liela nauda‎ ― large (sum of) money

   liels piena izlaukums‎ ― high milk yield

   liela taukvielu koncentrācija‎ ― high fat concentration

6. used with numerical values (in the accusative)

   simt paskalu liels spiediens‎ ― a pressure of (lit. big of) 100 pascals

   divas tonnas liela masa‎ ― a mass of (lit. big of) two tons

   vienu metru liels diametrs‎ ― a diameter of (lit. big of) one meter

   Andoras republikas teritorija ir 465 kvadrātkilometrus liela‎ ― the territory of the Republic of Andorra is 465 square kilometers (lit. 465 square kilometers big)

7. big, grown-up, adult

   Liene ar Juri izauga lieli‎ ― Liene and Juri grew big (= grew up)

   lielie ļaudis nav slikti, vismaz tādi kā Ilgas vecmāmiņa‎ ― big people (= grown-ups) are not bad, at least those like Ilga's grandmother

8. big, large (having many members;)

   liela ģimene‎ ― large family

9. (of feelings, mental states) big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)

   liels uztraukums, nogurums‎ ― big excitement, tiredness

   lielas bēdas‎ ― great sorrow

   liela mīlestība‎ ― great love

10. big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)

    liels trūkums‎ ― big drawback

    liela nabadzība‎ ― great poverty

    dzīvot lielā pārticībā‎ ― to live in great prosperity

    saņemt lielu dāvanu‎ ― to receive a big present

11. (of events, actions) more intense, with more intense effects

    liels uzbrukums‎ ― large attack

    liela cīņa‎ ― big fight

    lieli svētki‎ ― big holidays, big celebration

12. (of duty, position) important, influential

    liels amats‎ ― great, important position, office

13. (of situations) great, big (offering many possibilities)

    lielas priekšrocības‎ ― great advantages

    liela izvēle‎ ― big choice

14. (of people) great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent

    liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs‎ ― great craftsman, organizer, helper

    liela šuvēja‎ ― great seamstress

    liels grāmatu lāsītājs‎ ― great book reader

    liels makšķernieks‎ ― great fisherman

    liels rakstnieks, gleznotājs, mūziķis, melis‎ ― great writer, painter, musician, storyteller

    liels varonis‎ ― great hero

    lieli draugi‎ ― great friends

15. (of people) big, important, rich

    liels muižnieks‎ ― great lord, gentleman

    liels namīpašnieks‎ ― great landlord

16. (of events, art, time periods) great, major, important, significant, influential

    lielais karš‎ ― the great war

    izvirzīt lielus mērķus‎ ― to identify major goals

    lielais balets‎ ― great ballet

    liels laikmets rada lielu dzeju‎ ― a great era creates great poetry

Declension

Synonyms

• milzīgs, gigantisks
• prāvs

Antonyms

• mazs
• neliels
• sīks

Derived terms

• lielains, lielainums
• lielīgs, lielība
• lielisks, lieliskums
• lielums

Etymology 2

Liels

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- ‎(“to bend”), from the stem *el- ‎(“to bend”), whence also elkonis ‎(“elbow”)); compare also laiva ‎(“boat”), leja ‎(“valley”). The original meaning was probably “bending, curvature.” A similar semantic development can be seen in Sanskrit आणिः ‎(āṇiḥ, “leg above knee”) (< *arṇí- < *elni-), Armenian ոլոք ‎(olokʿ, “shinbone”) (< *elok- / *olok-). Another suggestion has liels ‎(“shin, calf (of leg)”) be the nominalized form of the adjective liels ‎(“great, large, big”) with intonational change.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [liɛ̂ls]

Noun

liels m (1st declension)

1. (anatomy) shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)

   tikai nupat viņš sajuta sūrstošas sāpes kreisās kājas lielā‎ ― only then did he feel a sharp pain in his left leg's shin

2. an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

Synonyms

• (annual hard widening or growth on a tree): lielainums

Declension

Synonyms

• apakšstilbs, stilbs
• lielainums

References

1. 1 2 Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “liels”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7