Latvian

Adjective

sauss (def. sausais, comp. sausāks, sup. vissausākais; adv. sausi)

1. dry (containing (relatively) little or no liquid, moisture, vapor; whose surface has (relatively) little or no liquid, moisture)

   sausas smiltis‎ ― dry sand

   sausa malka‎ ― dry firewood

   sausas lapas‎ ― dry leaves

   sauss zars‎ ― dry branch, twig

   sauss sniegs, gaiss, tvaiks‎ ― dry snow, air, steam

   sausas lūpas‎ ― dry lips

   sausa āda‎ ― dry skin

   sausi mati‎ ― dry hair (= insufficiently nourished)

   varbūt pa ceļam gadīsies kāds šķūnītis... varētu ielīst siltā, sausā sienā‎ ― maybe on the way there is some little barn... one could crawl into warm, dry hay

   acīs nemanīja asaru; šausmas bija acis darījušas sausas‎ ― in (their) eyes no tears could be found; terror made (their) eyes dry

   abiem mutes bija sausas, un viņi pārtrauca sarunas, lai mazliet sakrātu siekalas uz mēles‎ ― both (men) had dry mouths, and they stopped the conversation to save some saliva on their tongues

2. dry (which has lost the liquid or moisture that it previously had)

   sauss dīķis‎ ― dry pond

   sausa aka‎ ― dry well

   katls izvārījies sauss‎ ― the kettle has boiled dry

   noslaucīt galdu sausu‎ ― to wipe the table dry

   upe palika tik sausa, ka tajā varēja atrast mazāko akmeni‎ ― the river stayed so dry that one could find the smallest stones in it

   kapteiņa puķu odekolona pudelīte ir sausa‎ ― the captain's little flower cologne bottle is dry (= totally empty)

3. (usually definite forms) dry (containing less liquid, moisture than usual, than other comparable items)

   sausā barība‎ ― dry food

   sausais raugs‎ ― dry yeast

   sausais piens‎ ― dried milk

   sausais spirts‎ ― dry alcohol

   sausais ledus‎ ― dry ice (solid CO₂)

   sausais vīns‎ ― dry wine (prepared without adding alcohol or sugar)

4. (of climate, weather, their elements; of time periods or areas) dry (characterized by relatively little humidity in the air or soil, by relatively less rainfall)

   sauss laiks, klimats‎ ― dry weather, climate

   sauss vējš‎ ― dry wind

   sausa vasara‎ ― dry summer

   sauss gads‎ ― dry year

   sausa pļava‎ ― dry meadow

   sausi meži‎ ― dry forests

   sauss dzīvoklis, pagrabs‎ ― dry apartment, basement

   Vidusāzijā ir viss vai gandriz viss, izņemot ūdeni; tā ir ļoti, ļoti sausa zeme‎ ― Central Asia has everything or almost everything, except water; it is a very, very dry land

   bija atnākusi sausa, svelmaina diena‎ ― a dry, scorching day had come

5. dry (which happens, is carried out without the use of water, of fluids; which does not produce water, fluids)

   sausā spodrināšana‎ ― dry shine

   sausais putekļu uztvērējs‎ ― dry dust collector

   sausais pleirīts‎ ― dry pleurisy

   sauss klepus‎ ― dry cough

6. (of people, their body parts) dry, thin, weak

   atbrauca mazs, sauss vīriņš stipri apnēsātā samta uzvalkā‎ ― a little dry (= weak-looking) man arrived in a shabby velvet suit

   vanagu pagalmā ienāca Mālnieka tēvs, garš, sauss vecis‎ ― MMālnieks' father came into the hawk yard, a tall, dry (= fragile) old man

7. (of people, their behavior) dry (without emotionality, without compassion or concern)

   sauss cilvēks‎ ― dry person

   sauss stils‎ ― dry style

   sausa valoda‎ ― dry language

   cilvēki runāja, ka Strautmanis esot sauss un auksts‎ ― people say that Strautmanis is dry and cold

8. (of activities, opinions) dry (without feelings; which causes no feelings)

   Ausma jutās nelaimīga neradošajā, sausajā bibliotēkas darbā‎ ― Ausma felt unhappy in (= with) (the) non-creative, dry library work

   statistika ir nepielūdzama: šķietami sausie skaitļi allaž parāda, kas paveikts un kur vēl spēcīgāk pieliekams plecs‎ ― statistics is relentless: the seemingly dry figures always show what (was) done and where shoulders must be bent even more strongly (= where one must work harder)

9. (of sounds) dry, toneless, hollow]

   Paipa iesmējās sīku, sausu smiekliņu‎ ― Paipa laughed a little dry laugh

Declension

Antonyms

• mikls
• mitrs
• slapjš
• valgs, valgans

Derived terms

• sausums

Related terms

• sausēt, sausināt
• susēt

References

1. ↑ Ranko Matasović - Toward a relative chronology of the earliest Baltic and Slavic sound changes, University of Zagreb, 2005
2. ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “sauss”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7