augsne

Coined in the 1920s from aug(t) (“to grow”) +‎ -sne, it replaced in the sense of "soil" the previously used word augtene, which survived with a more restricted usage (as "place of planting").[1]

• IPA^(key): [âwksnɛ]

augsne f (5th declension)

1. soil, earth (upper layer of the ground, transformed under the influence of plants, animals, and the weather, where plants are sown to grow)

   smilšaina, mālaina augsne ― sandy, clay soil

   kūdras augsne ― peat soil

   velēnu augsne ― sod soil

   irdena augsne ― friable soil

   blīva augsne ― dense, thick soil, earth

   apstrādāt augsni ― to treat the soil

   augsnes auglība ― soil fertility

   augsnes dezinfekcija ― soil desinfection

   augsnes erozija ― soil erosion

   augsnes kaļķošana ― soil liming

   iestrādāt mēslojumu augsnē ― to work fertilizer into the soil

   augnes virskārta, apakškārta ― topsoil, subsoil

   augsnes tipi, veidi ― soil types

   lupīnas audzē neauglīgās, smilšainās augsnēs ― one grows lupins in arid, sandy soils

2. (figuratively) soil (prerequisites or favorable conditions for the development of something)

   literatūrai nepieciešama sava dabiska attīstība, vide un augsne, kur iespējams rasties liela vēriena darbiem ― literature needs its own development, an environment and a soil where large-scope works can arise