krēsla
Latvian
Etymology 2
Derived from krēst (“to shake”), an archaic causative form of krist (“to fall”), with an extra l. Note dialectal krēsla meaning “a thin layer (of snow, dew, etc.) (fallen during the preceding night),” as well as expressions relating darkness to falling: uzkrīt tumsa “darkness is falling,” vakars uzkrita spējš “the night fell suddenly, quickly.” So krēsla was originally the time of the falling (= beginning) of darkness, of night, hence incomplete darkness or twilight.[1]
Noun
krēsla f (4th declension)
- twilight, dusk (diffuse sunlight shortly before sunrise or (especially) shortly after sunset)
- vakara krēsla ― evening twilight, dusk
- iestājas krēsla ― twilight has begun
- krēslas dzīvnieks ― twilight, crepuscular animal
- nu jau mežā bieza krēsla, tēvs skubina Dūkani, lai neuzkrīt ceļā pilnīga tumsa ― now in the forest (there was) thick (= dark) twilight, (and) father urged Dūkanis (to go faster) so that full darkness wouldn't fall (while they were still) on (their) way
- krēsla sabiezēja, bet ugunis uz ielas vēl nedega ― the twilight thickened (= became darker), but the lamps on the streets were still off
- austošā rīta pelēcīgajā krēslā jau iezīmējās atsevišķu priekšmetu apveidi ― in the gray dawning twilight the contours of some objects were already visible
- twilight, dusk (the time of day when there is such diffuse sunlight)
- doties ar krēslu mājās ― to go home at dusk
- jau krēslā atgriežas tēvs, noguris un sarūgtināts par nenoķeramo foreli ― at dusk father returned, tired and disappointed because of that trout (that was) impossible to capture
- weak, insufficient light
- istabā tikai divi mazi četrrūšu lodziņi; te vienmēr krēsla, tā ka bērni vieni baidās nākt ― in the rooom (there) were only two small four-pane windows; there is always little light there, so that the children are afraid to come (in) alone
- ar tumsu parādījās mēness un noklāja pār purvu blāvu krēslu ― with the darkness the moon appeared and covered the swamp with a pale weak light
Usage notes
Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca indicates krēsla (“twilight”) as having level intonation. Pronunciation with broken intonation can be encountered despite the fact that this eliminates the possibility to differentiate it from krēsls (“chair”) (which LEV in fact indicates as having a level intonation as well although in practice it is most commonly pronounced with a broken tone.)
Declension
singular (vienskaitlis) | plural (daudzskaitlis) | |
---|---|---|
nominative (nominatīvs) | krēsla | krēslas |
accusative (akuzatīvs) | krēslu | krēslas |
genitive (ģenitīvs) | krēslas | krēslu |
dative (datīvs) | krēslai | krēslām |
instrumental (instrumentālis) | krēslu | krēslām |
locative (lokatīvs) | krēslā | krēslās |
vocative (vokatīvs) | krēsla | krēslas |
Derived terms
- krēslains, krēslainība
- pakrēsla
- pakrēslis
See also
- Times of day (diennakts daļas):
ausma/rītausma - rīts - pusdiena - pēcpusdiena - vakars - krēsla - nakts - pusnakts
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “krēsla”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN