purvs

Latvian

 purvs on Latvian Wikipedia

Purvs

Alternative forms

• (dialectal terms) purs, pors, purvis

Etymology

The origin of this word is unclear. Some compare it to Lower Sorbian para (“filth, dung”), Polabian poro (“filth, dung; swamp, bog”) (assuming that o < *uo < *ō), from a stem *pōr- to which an extra v or vo was added. Others relate purvs to Ancient Greek πυρρός (purrhós, “red, pink, brownish red”), Sanskrit पुरीषम् (púrīṣam, “filth, dung”), परुष (paruṣa, “spotted, speckled”), pointing out that it often happens in Indo-European languages that "swamp" and "red" are related terms (e.g., from Proto-Slavic *ruda (“red”), Polish ruda (“ore, peat, swamp”), Ukrainian руда́ (rudá, “ore, swamp”)), probably because of the reddish-brown color of swamp waters. Cognates include Lithuanian pur̃vas (“filth, dirt”), Sudovian puro (“swamp”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [pùɾvs]

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Noun

purvs m (1st declension)

1. swamp, bog, marsh, morass (low wetland with a layer of accumulated peat)

   kūdras, sūnu purvs ― peat, moss bog

   staigns purvs ― miry bog

   nosusināt purvu ― to drain the swamp

   purva augsne ― swampy soil

   purva dūņas ― bog mud, sludge

   purva kūdra ― swamp, marsh peat

   purva arkls ― swamp plow

   purva gáze ― swamp gas (= methane)

   purva drudzis ― swamp fever (= malaria)

   purva bērzs ― bog birch

   purva varde ― marsh frog

   brist pa purvu ― to wade through the swamp, bog

   lasīt purvā dzērvenes ― to gather cranberries in the swamp

   naktī pār purvu skrēja purva sloka... atvērtu knābi tā šāvās no vienas malas uz otru, rijot knišļus ― at night the swamp woodcock runs all over the swamp... it swings its open beak from side to side, swallowing small flies

2. (figuratively) swamp (hard, difficult circumstances)

   nogrimt purvā ― to sink in the swamp (= to be in difficult circumstances)

   elpu! elpu!... man šinī purvā jānosmok!.. ak, kaut es spētu nokratīt šo dzīvi ― air! air!... I have to stifle in this swamp!... oh, if only I could shake off this life

Declension

	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	purvs	purvi
accusative (akuzatīvs)	purvu	purvus
genitive (ģenitīvs)	purva	purvu
dative (datīvs)	purvam	purviem
instrumental (instrumentālis)	purvu	purviem
locative (lokatīvs)	purvā	purvos
vocative (vokatīvs)	purv	purvi

Declension of purvs (1st declension)

Synonyms

• muklājs
• purvājs
• staignājs
• staignums

Derived terms

• purvains
• purvājs

References

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