lūsis
Latvian
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *lewḱ- (“lynx”), apparently a parallel form of *lewk- (“bright; to shine”) (whence Latvian lauks “field,” q.v.). The animal was probably named after its glowing eyes and sharp vision, or perhaps because of its whitish fur. Cognates include Lithuanian lū́šis, Old Prussian luysis (uy maybe [ū] or [uʲ]), Russian рысь (rysʹ), Czech rys, Polish ryś, Proto-Germanic *luhs(u)- (Old High German luhs, German Luchs), Ancient Greek λύγξ (lúnx), Armenian լուսան (lusan)[1]
Pronunciation
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Noun
lūsis m (2nd declension)
- lynx (several species of medium-sized wild cats of the genus Lynx)
- Pēc 2005. gada datiem Kurzemē un Vidzemē mīt apmēram 700 ziemeļu lūšu ― according to 2005 data, in Kurzeme and Vidzeme there are about 700 northern (= Eurasian) lynxes
- vismazākie lūšu ģintī ir rūsganais lūsis (Lynx rufus) un Kanādas lūsis (Lynx canadensis) ― the smallest (species) in the lynx genus are the bobcat (lit. russet lynx, Lynx rufus) and the Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis)
Declension
Declension of lūsis (2nd declension)
References
- Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “lūsis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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