vecs

Latgalian

Etymology

From vacs (“old”). Akin to Latvian vecis.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvʲæt͡sʲsʲ]
• Hyphenation: vecs

Noun

vecs m

1. old man

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	vecs	veči
genitive	veča	veču
dative	večam	večim
accusative	veci	večus
instrumental	veci	večim
locative	vecī	večūs
vocative	vec	veči

Declension of vecs (type 2 noun)

References

• Nicole Nau (2011) A short grammar of Latgalian, München: LINCOM GmbH, →ISBN, page 15

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *wétušas, from Proto-Indo-European *wet- with an extra (adjectivizing) suffix -(e)s. The original meaning was “of (the) year,” “one year old” (opposed to one born now, recently), from which “older one.” It is also possible that the stem *wet- already had the meaning “previous, earlier,” with the meaning “year” being derived (e.g., “previous, earlier lamb” > “lamb from last year”); compare the meaning relation between Ancient Greek ἕνος (hénos, “old, first, former”) (< *sénos), δίενος (díenos, “two-year-old”).

Cognates include Lithuanian vẽtušas, dialectal vẽčas, Old Church Slavonic ветъхъ (vetŭxŭ, “old, aged, ancient”), Russian ве́тхий (vétxij, “old, aged”), Ukrainian вітхий (vitxyj, “old, aged”), Bulgarian вехт (veht), Czech vetchý, Polish wiotchy, wiotki, Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌸𐍂𐌿𐍃 (wiþrus, “one-year-old lamb”), German Widder (“ram”), Proto-Celtic *wetsi- (Middle Irish feis, Cornish guis, both “sow that has already given birth” < “from last year”), Hittite witt- (< *wet-), Sanskrit वत्स (vatsá, “year; calf”), *vátas-, Ancient Greek ἔτος (étos, “year”), dialectal ϝέτος (wétos), Latin vetus (“old, ancient”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [væts]

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Adjective

vecs (definite vecais, comparative vecāks, superlative visvecākais, adverb (none))

1. (of people, living beings) old (who has lived relatively long, relatively many years)

   vecajam ir gādīga tēva sirds ― the old (man) has a caring father's heart

   veca sievete ― old woman

   vecā paaudze ― the old generation

   vecs vilks ― old wolf

   vecas govis ― old cows

   veca liepa ― old lime tree

   vecs mežs ― old forest

2. (with age indications in the accusative) old

   mēnesi vecs bērns ― a one-month-old child

   divpadsmit gadus vecs pusaudzis ― twelve-year-old teenager

   Erfurte ir vairāk nekā tūkstoš gadu veca ― (the city of) Erfurt is more than a thousand years old

3. old (typical of aged people; weak)

   vecas kājas ― old legs

   veca sirds ― old heart

4. old (who has worked long, who has much experience)

   veci zvejnieki ― old, experienced fishermen

   vecs kolekcionārs ― old collector

   vecs fotoamatieris ― old amateur photographer

5. old (who has lived somewhere for a long time)

   vecs šejienietis ― old local, someone who has lived here long

6. old (who has been known for a long time)

   veca paziņa ― old acquaintance

   veci draugi ― old friends

7. old (which was founded, created, built, made long ago, which has existed, has been known for a relatively long time)

   vecs muižas centrs ― old manor

   vecas mājas ― old house

   veca pilsēta ― old city

   vecā pasaule, vecais kontinents ― old world, old continent (Europe, Africa, Asia)

   vecs rakstāmgalds ― old desk

   vecas tradīcijas ― old tradition

   veca mīlestība ― old love

   vecs joks ― old joke

   veca ziņģe ― old popular song

   vecs dokuments ― old document

8. (of plants, crops; chiefly definite forms) old (which grew, became ripe a long time ago; which was harvested the previous year)

   vecie rudzi, kartupeļi ― old rye, potatoes

   uzturā izlieto jaunas saknes, vecās saknes ir negaršīgas, koksnainas ― in food one uses new roots, the old roots are unpalatable, woody

9. (of objects, buildings) old (worn out, used for a long time, not suitable for further use)

   zvana tornis kapsētā bija vecs, apsūnojis ― the bell tower in the cemetery was old, mossy

   veca, salāpīta vīriešu žakete ― old, patched men's jacket

   saimnieks atdevis savus vecos zābakus ― the landlord gave away his old boots

10. (of food) old (which was stored for a long time ago, which is no longer fit to be eaten)

    vecs ievārījums ― old jam

    veca zupa ― old soup

11. (of systems) old (no longer in use, no longer valid)

    vecs kalendārs ― old calendar

    veca caurlaide ― old pass, badge

12. (of time period; chiefly definite forms) old (already passed, already gone by; relating to past times)

    vecais gads ― old year (i.e., the previous year)

    vecie laiki ― old times

    vecā nauda ― old money

    vecais valsts aparāts ― old state apparatus

    veci notikumi ― old events

13. (chiefly definite forms) old, previous (which existed before (something else), before the current one, which was replaced by a new one)

    vecais direktors ― the old director

    upes vecā gultne ― the river's old bed

    vecā adrese ― the old, previous address

    Vecā Derība ― the Old Testament (first half of the Bible)

    vecā stila (Jūlija) kalendārs ― old style (Julian) calendar

    vecā ortogrāfija ― the old spelling (used in Latvia before the early 20th century)

14. (definite form, used nominally) old one (one of two spouses, mentioned by the other one; a parent, mentioned by the child; (plural) parents (syn. vecāki))

    man jau nav vaļas tā sēdēt; vecais gaida mājā ― I don't have the leisure to sit like that; the old one (i.e., my husband) is waiting in the house

    “kur tēvs?” “tavs vecais? sveiks un vesels...” ― “where (is) father?” “your old one? safe and sound...”

    tev negribējās mācīties; bet vecie piespieda un pareizi darīja ― you didn't want to study; but your old ones (= parents) forced you to, and that was well done

15. (definite form, used nominally) old one, old thing (something out of date, outmoded; something which hinders new developments)

    mūžīgi ārdoša cīņa starp iegūto veco un vienmēr topošo jauno ― the eternally raging battle between the stable old and the always emerging new

Declension

	masculine (vīriešu dzimte)			feminine (sieviešu dzimte)
	singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)		singular (vienskaitlis)	plural (daudzskaitlis)
nominative (nominatīvs)	vecs	veci		veca	vecas
accusative (akuzatīvs)	vecu	vecus		vecu	vecas
genitive (ģenitīvs)	veca	vecu		vecas	vecu
dative (datīvs)	vecam	veciem		vecai	vecām
instrumental (instrumentālis)	vecu	veciem		vecu	vecām
locative (lokatīvs)	vecā	vecos		vecā	vecās
vocative (vokatīvs)	—	—		—	—

indefinite declension (nenoteiktā galotne) of vecs

Synonyms

• sens

Antonyms

• jauns

Derived terms

• vecāki
• vecība
• vecums

Related terms

• vecis, vecene

References

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