sermulis

Latvian

Sermulis (vasarā)
Sermulis (ziemā)

Alternative forms

Etymology

From *serm- + -ulis, from Proto-Baltic *šerm-, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱer- (gray color) with an extra -m (whence also Latvian sirms (gray), q.v.). Cognates include Lithuanian šermuõ, šermuonė̃lis, Old High German harmo, German Hermelin.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [sæ̂ɾmulis]

Noun

sermulis m (2nd declension)

  1. stoat, ermine (a mustelid species of the weasel family, Mustela erminea, whose fur becomes completely white in winter)
    sermuļa āda, sermuļādaermine fur
    sermuļa apkakleermine (fur) collar
    sermulis ir ļoti derīgs dzīvnieks, jo iznīcina daudz peļuthe stoat is a very useful animal, because it kills many mice
    sermulis medī žurkas, ūdensžurkas, peles, sīkos putnus, uzbrūk pat irbēm un zaķiemthe stoat hunts rats, water rats, mice, little birds, attacking even partridges and hares

Declension

Derived terms

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), sermulis”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.