Finnish

Noun

tauta

1. Partitive singular form of tau.

Anagrams

• autat

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtʰøyːta/
• Rhymes: -øyːta

Verb

tauta ‎(weak verb, third-person singular past indicative tautaði, supine tautað)

1. to mutter

Conjugation

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *tawtā-, from Proto-Indo-European *towtā, an o-grade form of *tewtā-, *tewtéh₂ ‎(“throng, multitude; people; land”), from the stem *tew- ‎(“to swell”). This word had several meanings in its history, often still found in folk tales: “(group of) foreigners,” “strangers,” “enemy tribe,” etc. In the 17th century, ļaudis, not tauta, was used in the sence of “people, nation.” In translations of German texts, (non-native) translators often used tauta to mean also “tribe,” “nation,” “(social) group” (compare German Geschlecht, Gattung), even “(animal or vegetal) species.” In the 19th century, the range of uses was narrowed, especially in the 1850s and 1860s with the first Latvian National Awakening, where the word tauta became associated with the idea of “nation” and was first used to refer to the Latvian people. It then stabilized with its current (political-ethnographic) meaning. Cognates include Lithuanian tautà, Sudovian taud (from *tauta), Old Prussian tauto ‎(“land”), Proto-Germanic *þeudō (Gothic 𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰 ‎(þiuda), Old English þeod, Old High German diot, German deutsch, from *þiudiskaz), Old Irish túath ‎(“people, tribe”), Oscan touto ‎(“country, citizens, community”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tàwta]

Noun

tauta f (4th declension)

1. people, nation (historically formed group of people, usually having a common culture, language, and territory)

   latviešu tauta‎ ― the Latvian people, nation

   lietuviešu tauta‎ ― the Lithuanian people, nation

   vācu tauta‎ ― the German people, nation

   tautas izcelšanās‎ ― the origin, ethnogenesis of a nation

   tautas vēsture‎ ― people's, national history

   tautu draudzība‎ ― friendship among nations

   kultūras tauta‎ ― cultured, cultivated nation

   tautas gars‎ ― national spirit (= cultural, spiritual, psychological specificity)

2. (in the genitive, used adjectivally) people's, popular, folk, national (that which is typical or traditional of a nation)

   tautas daiļrade‎ ― folk, national creation, art

   tautas māksla‎ ― folk, popular art

   tautas teikas‎ ― folk legends

   tautas daiļamatniecība‎ ― folk craft

   tautas mūzika, dejas‎ ― folk music, dances

   tautas dziesma‎ ― folk song, verse

   tautas ticējumi‎ ― folk beliefs

   tautas ēdieni‎ ― popular, ethnic food

   tautas tērps‎ ― folk, ethnic costume

   tautas eposs‎ ― folk epic

   tautas medicīna, ārstniecība‎ ― folk medicine

3. people (group of inhabitants of a given area)

   Latvijas tauta‎ ― the people of Latvia

   tautas skaitīšana‎ ― census (lit. people counting)

4. (in the genitive, used adjectivally) popular, people's (that which was made by, is typical of, the people of a certain area; that which defends their interests)

   tautas izglītības sistēma‎ ― popular education system

   tautas fronte‎ ― popular front

5. people (a large number of individuals; people in general)

   mašīnā tagad tautas ir vairāk, visiem sēdvietu nepietiek‎ ― there are more people in the car now, there won't be enough sitting space for all

   viņš gaida, kad sanāks vairāk tautas‎ ― he waited for (the time) when more people would come

   tauta runā, ka tu institūtā tikpat kā neesot redzēts‎ ― people are saying that it's as if you haven't been seen at the institute (= that you haven't been there often enough)

6. (colloquial) people (a group of individuals with some specific characteristic feature)

   zvejnieki ir trūcīga tauta‎ ― fishermen are a poor people

   mēs, mākslinieki, esam nelaimīga tauta‎ ― we, the artists, are an unhappy people

   bērniem, bērniem vajag rakstīt! tā ir vispateicīgākā tauta‎ ― the children, the children must write! they are (lit. that is) the most promising, gratifying people

   kaķi vispār ir tāda tauta, no kuras nezini, ko kurā brīdī sagaidīsi‎ ― cats in general are such a people, from which you don't know what and when to expect

7. (in folklore; usually plural) people from another region, family group, village

   tautu meita‎ ― (lit. daughter of the people) young woman from another region or family group

   tautu dēls‎ ― (lit. son of the people) young man from another region or family group

Declension

Synonyms

• nācija
• tautība

Derived terms

• starptautisks, starptautiskums
• tautība
• tautietis, tautiete
• tautisks, tautiskums

References

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

Lithuanian

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂

Noun

tautà f stress pattern 4

1. land, region, country

References

• “tauta” in Lietuvių kalbos etimologinio žodyno duomenų bazė