English

Verb

slims

1. third-person singular simple present indicative form of slim

Latvian

Etymology

A borrowing from Middle Low German slim or from Middle Dutch slim ‎(“twisted, crooked; bad, evil”); compare also German schlimm ‎(“bad, evil; (col.) sick”). First attested in the 17th century, mostly with meanings such as “bad”, “useless”, “inappropriate”, “evil”, or “wild”, or more rarely “sick”. This last meaning “sick” was apparently more frequent in Southern Kurzeme dialects; in Vidzeme, this meaning was not attested still in the 18th century. It became more frequent in written Latvian with the works of G. F. Stenders in the late 18th century, especially his dictionary, in which German krank was translated as slims, and in which slims was no longer translated as “bad,” “useless”. Stenders also coined the terms slimība, slimnieks, apslimt and slimēties (but curiously not slimot, which appeared only in the 19th century).^[1]

Adjective

slims (def. slimais, comp. slimāks, sup. visslimākais; adv. slimi)

1. sick, ill, diseased (having a disturbance in the normal functioning of the body or one or some of its parts)

   slims bērns‎ ― sick child

   slima sievete‎ ― sick woman

   slims kuņģis‎ ― sick stomach

   slimi zobi‎ ― diseased teeth

   ārstēt slimās acis‎ ― to treat sick, diseased eyes

   slima ābele‎ ― sick apple tree

   slims zieds‎ ― sick flower

   justies slimam‎ ― to feel sick

   viņš jau vairākas dienas ir slims‎ ― he has been sick for several days

Declension

Antonyms

• vesels

Derived terms

• slimība
• slimnīca
• slimīgs
• slimnieks, slimniece
• slimot

References

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