Latvian

Noun

zaldāts m (1st declension)

1. (dated) soldier (especially in the czar's or in the German army)

   (aiz)iet zaldātos‎ ― to start military service (lit. to go to the soldiers)

   noņemt zaldātos‎ ― to recruit (lit. to take into the soldiers' )

   zaldātu nauda‎ ― soldier's money (historically, money paid to escape military duty)

   stāt kā zaldāts‎ ― to stand like a soldier (i.e., perfectly upright)

   vecs Pirmā pasaules kara zaldāts‎ ― an old World War I soldier

Declension

Usage notes

The words karavīrs and kareivis have mostly replaced zaldāts in contemporary usage.

Synonyms

• karavīrs
• kareivis

References

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