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Definition 2024


rets

rets

English

Verb

rets

  1. third-person singular simple present indicative form of ret

Catalan

Verb

rets

  1. second-person singular present indicative form of retre

Danish

Noun

rets c

  1. genitive singular indefinite of ret

Latvian

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *retas, from Proto-Indo-European *er-, *(e)re- (loose, sparse, rare; to break down, to fall to pieces) (whence also irt (to disintegrate, to fall apart), q.v.) with an extra suffix -to-s. A parallel form from the same stem with a suffix -dʰ (*redʰ-) led to Old Church Slavonic рѣдъкъ (rědъkъ), Russian редкий (redkij), and to Latvian dialectal rēds. Cognates include Lithuanian rẽtas[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ɾæts]

Adjective

rets (def. retais, comp. retāks, sup. visretākais; adv. reti)

  1. thin, sparse (formed of a number of similar elements placed at a relatively large distance from one another)
    rets priedulājsthin, sparse pine forest
    mežs bija pietiekami rets ― the forest was rather thin, sparse
    reti matithin hair
    reta ķemmewide-tooth(ed) (lit. thin, sparse) comb
  2. sparse (not close to one another)
    grābeklis ar retiem zariem ― rake with rare, sparse prongs
    reti kokisparse trees
  3. (of fabric, cloth) thin (with gaps, spaces between the threads)
    reta auduma maisiņš ― little sack of thin cloth (= having gaps)
  4. (of gazes, fog, air, etc.) thin (not concentrated)
    rets kalnu gaissthin mountain air
    migla kļuva retāka un caurspīdīgāka ― the mist became thinner and more transparent
  5. (of groups of people) thin (having few members)
    viņu rindas bija kļuvušas retākas ― their lines, ranks had become thinner
  6. rare (of which there is only a small number)
    reti augirare plants
    retie ķīmiskie elementi, metālirare chemical elements, metals
    retas rokrakstu grāmatasrare manuscript books
  7. rare, infrequent, uncommon (not widely known, distributed, used)
    rets vārdu savienojumsrare, uncommon word combination
    rets izteiciensrare expression
    reta tautasdziesmas melodijarare folk tune
  8. rare, uncommon (not normal, not ordinary)
    Ubāns ir viens no tiem retajiem māksliniekiem, kurš spēj atklāt skatītājam savu pasauli ― Ubāns is one of those rare artists who are able to open their world to the viewer
  9. (definite forms) rare one(s) (only a few, not many)
    viņa piederēja pie tiem retajiem, kas prot klausīties ― she belonged to (those) rare (people) who know how to listen
    mums varoņu daudz... vien retajam uzcelts piemineklis ― we have many heroes... ony to a rare one (= a few) a monument is built
  10. rare, infrequent (repeated only after long intervals)
    pa retamrarely
    rets gadījumsrare case
    retajos brīvajos vakaros māte mums lasīja ― in the rare free evenings mother used to read to us
  11. rare (which appears, happens infrequently)
    reti viesirare guests
    labs draugs ir reta manta pasaulē ― a good friend is a rare treasure on earth

Declension

Synonyms

  • (of "thin", "sparse"): plāns

Antonyms

  • (of "thin", "sparse", "not dense", "with gaps or spaces"): blīvs, biezs
  • (of "rare"): biežs

Derived terms

References

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

Old Prussian

Adjective

rets m

  1. rare, thin