Latvian

Spalva (1)

Spalva (3)

Noun

spalva f (4th declension)

1. feather (branching, hair-like structure that covers the skin of birds; a feather covering)

   pīlu, vistu, baložu spalvas‎ ― duck, chicken, pigeon feathers

   raibas spalvas‎ ― speckled feathers

   mest spalvas‎ ― to change (lit. throw) feathers, to moult

   plūkt, plucināt spalvas‎ ― to pluck feathers

   spalvu sega‎ ― feather blanket, duvet

   spalvu mākoņi‎ ― cirrus clouds (lit. feather clouds)

2. fur, hair; a covering of hair (on mammals)

   zirgam gluda, spoža spalva‎ ― the horse has smooth, shiny hair

   spalvām apaugušas rokas, kājas‎ ― hands, feet covered, overgrown with hair

   mākslīga spalva‎ ― artificial, synthetic fur

   liels suns, gludu spalvu, tumši brūns kā kastanis‎ ― a big dog, (with) smooth fur, dark brown like a chestnut

   truši met spalvu, t. i., mati izkrīt un to vietā izaug jauni‎ ― rabbits shed their fur, i.e., their hairs fall off and on the same place new ones grow

3. quill, pen (especially to be used as a writing instrument)

   noasināta zoss spalva‎ ― a sharpened goose quill

   rakstāmspalva‎ ― writing pen, nib

   pildspalva‎ ― writing pen

   rupja, smalka spalva‎ ― coarse, fine pen

   iemērkt spalvu tintē, tušā‎ ― to dip the pen in ink

   pirmais spalvas mēģinājums‎ ― the first attempt at the pen (= at writing, by a new author)

Declension

Usage notes

In the “writing implement” sense, pildspalva is the usual term, spalva being usually reserved for special, or old-fashioned, pens (especially feather pens) or for metaphorical uses.

Synonyms

• (of "hair, fur"): mati

Derived terms

• pildspalva
• rakstāmspalva
• spalvains
• spalvu mākonis, spalvmākonis

References

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

Lithuanian

Picture dictionary
raudonas oranžinis geltonas žalias mėlynas violetinis juodas pilkas baltas
Click on labels in the image

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [spɐlˈʋɐ]

Etymology

From Proto-Balto-Slavic *spalwā, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)p(h)el- ‎(“to split, cast off”), with a w extension. Alternatively, *spalu- may simply have been a u-stem noun, later transformed into an ā-stem noun: *spalu-ā- > *spalvā-. The original meaning was probably “that which was torn off, plucked, shorn.” Cognates include Latvian spalva ‎(“feather, fur”), Nareva Baltic spiła; the “color” meaning is a secondary development, from “feather, fur.”

Noun

spalvà f ‎(plural spal̃vos) stress pattern 4

1. colour, color

Declension

Samogitian

Noun

spalva f ‎(plural spalvas)

1. color, colour