Latvian

Noun

krēsla m

1. genitive singular form of krēsls

Etymology 2

Krēsla (1)

Derived from krēst ‎(“to shake”), an archaic causative form of krist ‎(“to fall”), with an extra l. Note dialectal krēsla meaning “a thin layer (of snow, dew, etc.) (fallen during the preceding night),” as well as expressions relating darkness to falling: uzkrīt tumsa “darkness is falling,” vakars uzkrita spējš “the night fell suddenly, quickly.” So krēsla was originally the time of the falling (= beginning) of darkness, of night, hence incomplete darkness or twilight.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [krǣːsla]

Noun

krēsla f (4th declension)

1. twilight, dusk (diffuse sunlight shortly before sunrise or (especially) shortly after sunset)

   vakara krēsla‎ ― evening twilight, dusk

   iestājas krēsla‎ ― twilight has begun

   krēslas dzīvnieks‎ ― twilight, crepuscular animal

   nu jau mežā bieza krēsla, tēvs skubina Dūkani, lai neuzkrīt ceļā pilnīga tumsa‎ ― now in the forest (there was) thick (= dark) twilight, (and) father urged Dūkanis (to go faster) so that full darkness wouldn't fall (while they were still) on (their) way

   krēsla sabiezēja, bet ugunis uz ielas vēl nedega‎ ― the twilight thickened (= became darker), but the lamps on the streets were still off

   austošā rīta pelēcīgajā krēslā jau iezīmējās atsevišķu priekšmetu apveidi‎ ― in the gray dawning twilight the contours of some objects were already visible

2. twilight, dusk (the time of day when there is such diffuse sunlight)

   doties ar krēslu mājās‎ ― to go home at dusk

   jau krēslā atgriežas tēvs, noguris un sarūgtināts par nenoķeramo foreli‎ ― at dusk father returned, tired and disappointed because of that trout (that was) impossible to capture

3. weak, insufficient light

   istabā tikai divi mazi četrrūšu lodziņi; te vienmēr krēsla, tā ka bērni vieni baidās nākt‎ ― in the rooom (there) were only two small four-pane windows; there is always little light there, so that the children are afraid to come (in) alone

   ar tumsu parādījās mēness un noklāja pār purvu blāvu krēslu‎ ― with the darkness the moon appeared and covered the swamp with a pale weak light

Declension

Usage notes

Latviešu etimoloģijas vārdnīca indicates krēsla ‎(“twilight”) as having level intonation. Pronunciation with broken intonation can be encountered despite the fact that this eliminates the possibility to differentiate it from krēsls ‎(“chair”) (which LEV in fact indicates as having a level intonation as well although in practice it is most commonly pronounced with a broken tone.)

Derived terms

• krēslains, krēslainība
• pakrēsla
• pakrēslis

Related terms

• krēslot
• krist

See also

• Times of day (diennakts daļas):
  ausma/rītausma - rīts - pusdiena - pēcpusdiena - vakars - krēsla - nakts - pusnakts

References

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