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Definition 2024

prieks

prieks

See also: priekš and priekš-

Latvian

Alternative forms

Noun

prieks m (1st declension)

  1. (only singular) joy, delight (intense positive emotional state, elevated cheerfulness)
    ceļošanas, darba prieks‎ ― the joy of traveling, of work
    svētku prieks‎ ― festive (lit. holiday) joy
    prieks par labu grāmatu‎ ― the joy, pleasure of a good book
    prieks satikties ar draugiem‎ ― the pleasure of meeting (one's) friends
    bezgalīgs prieks‎ ― infinite joy
    prieka asaras‎ ― tears of joy
    izjust prieku‎ ― to feel joy
    smieties aiz prieka‎ ― to laugh of, with joy
    strādāt par prieku sev un citiem‎ ― to work to please (lit. for the pleasure, joy of) oneself and others
    prieks un sāpes: tie jau ir tikai emociju pretpoli‎ ― pleasure and pain: these are only emotionial opposites
    vai tu neesi aizmirsis to prieku, kāds sirdī ir vienīgi bērnībā un pavasarī?‎ ― haven't you forgotten that joy which is in the heart only in childhood, and in spring?
  2. (typically plural) joy, pleasure (events, circumstances, etc. which causes such positive emotional states)
    pāris nedēļu pagāja vienos priekos: izlaiduma balle, izlaiduma ekskursija‎ ― a couple of weeks went by only in joys, pleasures: the graduation ball, the graduation trip
  3. (in the locative; as an interjection) cheers! (toast when drinking)
    priekā! — cheers!

Declension

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Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “prieks”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7

Etymology

Usually derived from Proto-Baltic *prie (with an extra suffix -k), from a form *prēi- of Proto-Indo-European *prāi-, *prəi-, *pri- ‎(“to admire, to respect; satisfied, happy mood”). From this stem, cognates are derived (with different extra suffixes) in other languages, among which: Russian приятель ‎(prijátel', “friend”), archaic приять ‎(priját', “to relate favorably, positively”), Gothic 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽 ‎(frijōn, “to love”) (compare Dutch vrijen ‎(“to cuddle, to kiss, to have sex”)), 𐍆𐍂𐌹𐌾𐍉𐌽𐌳𐍃 ‎(frijonds, “friend”) (compare German Freund, Dutch vriend, English friend), Sanskrit प्रीणाति ‎(prīṇā́ti, “to like, to love, to be kind to”) (< stem *pri-), प्रितः ‎(pritáḥ, “happy, delighted; well-groomed”). But note that *prēi- is not an expected ablaut form of *prāi-, which casts doubt on this etymology. Another possibility is to derive prieks from Proto-Baltic *priek-, from *prei- (with an extra -k), from Proto-Indo-European *per-, *spʰer- ‎(“to pull, to throw, to kick”); the derived form *prew- of this stem yielded Russian прыгать ‎(prygatʹ, “to jump”), Dutch vreugde, German Freude ‎(“joy”).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pɾiɛ̂ks]

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