Gothic

Romanization

aiz

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌹𐌶

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *žō (with an extra formative a-: *a-žō > *ažuo > *ažu), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰō ‎(“behind, under, out of, because of”), itself perhaps a pronominal instrumental form from the *gʰe, *gʰo, a stem found in several particles, like Latvian nedz ‎(“neither, nor”) < *ne-gi. In Latvian, the final vowel was lost, yielding az, still dialectally attested, and also in some place names (Azpurve) and as a prefix in some words in the literary language (azaids ‎(“meal”), azote ‎(“bosom”)). Some dialects have a longer, and more recent, form āz. The standard form, aiz, has an unexpected i, possibly the result of convergence between az and iz ‎(“from”). Cognates include Lithuanian dialectal až, ažù ‎(“behind, out of, about”), Proto-Slavic *za ‎(“behind, out of, about, by, after, because of”) (Russian за ‎(za)).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [àjs]

Preposition

aiz ‎(with genitive)

1. behind

   paslēpties aiz liela koka‎ ― to hide behind a large tree

   aiz stūra‎ ― around (lit. behind) the corner

   atstādams aiz sevis garu putekļu grīsti‎ ― leaving behind himself a long trail of dust

   apspriede notika aiz slēgtām durvīm‎ ― the discussion took place behind closed doors

2. behind, under, into (so that it is covered)

   saule aizgrimst aiz mākoņiem‎ ― the sun sank behind the clouds

   puisēns aizbaza īkšķus aiz bikšu lencēm‎ ― the boy inserted his thumbs behind, under his suspenders

   aiz īsajiem cimdiem zvejniekiem tek sāļais ūdens‎ ― the salty water was leaking into, under the fishermen's short gloves

3. on the other side of, across, beyond

   māja ir aiz ezera‎ ― the house is on the other side of the lake

   šodien pļauj aiz meža‎ ― today they are harvesting on the other side of the forest

   Ivanovas darbs pazīstams tālu aiz mūsu zemes robežām‎ ― Ivanova's work is known far beyond the borders of our country

4. by (indicates touching, seizing, holding)

   paņemt, vest aiz rokas‎ ― to take, to lead (someone) by the hand

   satvert zēnu aiz apkakles‎ ― to grab the boy by the collar

   saķert suņu aiz astes‎ ― to grab the dog by the tail

5. after (indicating a sequence)

   viņi gāja cits aiz cita‎ ― they went one after the other

   Lilija nāk; aiz viņas pa pēdām mamma‎ ― Lily is coming; after her, mum's footsteps

   aiz' tankiem nāca kājnieki‎ ― after the tanks came the infantry

6. out of, of, because of, for (indicates a reason, a motive, a goal)

   gavilēt aiz prieka‎ ― to shout, exult out of joy

   raudāt aiz bēdām‎ ― to cry (out) of grief

   viņi smējās aiz cita iemesla‎ ― they were laughing for another reason

   aiz dusmām viņš nevar parunāt‎ ― out of anger he could not speak

Derived terms

• aizkuņģa

Related terms

• aiz-

References

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