akls

Latvian

Akls

Etymology

From the same stem (Proto-Baltic *ak-, from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ekʷ- (“eye, to see”)) as the earlier verb akt (cf. Lithuanian àkti (“to have eyes, to begin to see”); for some young animal offspring, also “to stop seeing”), from which it is an adjectival form with an extra l. Note the apparently strange polysemy “begin to see” vs. “stop seeing” in the Lithuanian cognate, probably already present in Proto-Baltic; the semantic connection is probably “having eyes” > “having something on one's eyes” > “having eye problems” > “becoming blind.” Cognates include Lithuanian ãklas.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [akls]
(file)

Adjective

akls (definite aklais, comparative aklāks, superlative visaklākais, adverb akli)

  1. blind (permanently (or temporarily) incapable of seeing)
    akls cilvēks ― blind person
    akls no dzimšanas ― blind from birth
    kaķēns piedzimst akls ― a kitten born blind
    kļūt aklam ― to become blind
    palīdzēt aklajam ― to help a blind (person)
    pārvest aklo pāri ielai ― to take a blind (person) across the street
    aklais plankums ― the blind spot (light-insensitive spot in the eye)
    akls aklam ceļu rāda, abi iekrīt grāvī ― (if) a blind (person) shows the way to (another) blind (person), both fall into a ditch
    pēkšņa pāreja spilgtā gaismā padara acis aklas ― the sudden transition to bright light makes the eyes blind
  2. (figuratively) blind (unthinking, unchecked, not subject to conscious assessment, control)
    akla paklausība ― blind obedience
    akla tīcība ― blind faith, belief
    akla mīlestība ― blind love
    akls naids ― blind hatred
    aklas dusmas ― blind rage
    Annele turējās visiem spēkiem pretī tumšām, aklām bailēm ― Annele kept all (her) forces against the dark, blind fear
  3. blind (accidental, unexpected)
    akla laime ― blind luck
    aklas lodes ― blind bullets (i.e., randomly shot)
  4. blind (very dark, impossible to see through; without light)
    akla nakts ― blind (= dark) night
    akls logs ― blind (= unlit) window
    visapkārt akla tumsa, un dzirdamas tikai vēja gaudas un jūras krākšana ― all around (only) blind darkness, and one could hear only the lamentation of the wind and the roaring of the sea
  5. blind (without an exit, without a passage, only one-way)
    akla iela ― blind street, alley
    akla siena ― blind wall (= without windows)
    akls logs ― blind window (= the contour of a window on a wall without the actual window)
    akla brūce ― blind wound (= internal wound, without an opening to the exterior of the body)
    aklā zarna ― caecum (lit. blind intestine)
  6. blind (done without looking; done only via instruments)
    akalis lidojums ― blind flight
    aklā lidmašīnas nolaišanās ― blind airplane landing
    aklā metode mašīnrakstīšanā ― the blind method in typing (i.e., without looking at the keyboard)

Declension

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

References

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

Samogitian

Adjective

akls

  1. blind
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