Latvian

Adjective

vecs (def. vecais, comp. vecāks, sup. visvecākais; irreg. adv. (none))

1. (of people, living beings) old (who has lived relatively long, relatively many years)

   vecajam ir gādīga tēva sirds‎ ― the old (man) has a caring father's heart

   veca sievete‎ ― old woman

   vecā paaudze‎ ― the old generation

   vecs vilks‎ ― old wolf

   vecas govis‎ ― old cows

   veca liepa‎ ― old lime tree

   vecs mežs‎ ― old forest

2. (with age indications in the accusative) old

   mēnesi vecs bērns‎ ― a one-month-old child

   divpadsmit gadus vecs pusaudzis‎ ― twelve-year-old teenager

   Erfurte ir vairāk nekā tūkstoš gadu veca‎ ― (the city of) Erfurt is more than a thousand years old

3. old (typical of aged people; weak)

   vecas kājas‎ ― old legs

   veca sirds‎ ― old heart

4. old (who has worked long, who has much experience)

   veci zvejnieki‎ ― old, experienced fishermen

   vecs kolekcionārs‎ ― old collector

   vecs fotoamatieris‎ ― old amateur photographer

5. old (who has lived somewhere for a long time)

   vecs šejienietis‎ ― old local, someone who has lived here long

6. old (who has been known for a long time)

   veca paziņa‎ ― old acquaintance

   veci draugi‎ ― old friends

7. old (which was founded, created, built, made long ago, which has existed, has been known for a relatively long time)

   vecs muižas centrs‎ ― old manor

   vecas mājas‎ ― old house

   veca pilsēta‎ ― old city

   vecā pasaule, vecais kontinents‎ ― old world, old continent (Europe, Africa, Asia)

   vecs rakstāmgalds‎ ― old desk

   vecas tradīcijas‎ ― old tradition

   veca mīlestība‎ ― old love

   vecs joks‎ ― old joke

   veca ziņģe‎ ― old popular song

   vecs dokuments‎ ― old document

8. (of plants, crops; chiefly definite forms) old (which grew, became ripe a long time ago; which was harvested the previous year)

   vecie rudzi, kartupeļi‎ ― old rye, potatoes

   uzturā izlieto jaunas saknes, vecās saknes ir negaršīgas, koksnainas‎ ― in food one uses new roots, the old roots are unpalatable, woody

9. (of objects, buildings) old (worn out, used for a long time, not suitable for further use)

   zvana tornis kapsētā bija vecs, apsūnojis‎ ― the bell tower in the cemetery was old, mossy

   veca, salāpīta vīriešu žakete‎ ― old, patched men's jacket

   saimnieks atdevis savus vecos zābakus‎ ― the landlord gave away his old boots

10. (of food) old (which was stored for a long time ago, which is no longer fit to be eaten)

    vecs ievārījums‎ ― old jam

    veca zupa‎ ― old soup

11. (of systems) old (no longer in use, no longer valid)

    vecs kalendārs‎ ― old calendar

    veca caurlaide‎ ― old pass, badge

12. (of time period; chiefly definite forms) old (already passed, already gone by; relating to past times)

    vecais gads‎ ― old year (i.e., the previous year)

    vecie laiki‎ ― old times

    vecā nauda‎ ― old money

    vecais valsts aparāts‎ ― old state apparatus

    veci notikumi‎ ― old events

13. (chiefly definite forms) old, previous (which existed before (something else), before the current one, which was replaced by a new one)

    vecais direktors‎ ― the old director

    upes vecā gultne‎ ― the river's old bed

    vecā adrese‎ ― the old, previous address

    Vecā Derība‎ ― the Old Testament (first half of the Bible)

    vecā stila (Jūlija) kalendārs‎ ― old style (Julian) calendar

    vecā ortogrāfija‎ ― the old spelling (used in Latvia before the early 20th century)

14. (definite form, used nominally) old one (one of two spouses, mentioned by the other one; a parent, mentioned by the child; (plural) parents (syn. vecāki))

    man jau nav vaļas tā sēdēt; vecais gaida mājā‎ ― I don't have the leisure to sit like that; the old one (i.e., my husband) is waiting in the house

    “kur tēvs?” “tavs vecais? sveiks un vesels...”‎ ― “where (is) father?” “your old one? safe and sound...”

    tev negribējās mācīties; bet vecie piespieda un pareizi darīja‎ ― you didn't want to study; but your old ones (= parents) forced you to, and that was well done

15. (definite form, used nominally) old one, old thing (something out of date, outmoded; something which hinders new developments)

    mūžīgi ārdoša cīņa starp iegūto veco un vienmēr topošo jauno‎ ― the eternally raging battle between the stable old and the always emerging new

Declension

Synonyms

• sens

Antonyms

• jauns

Related terms

• vecis, vecene

Derived terms

• vecāki
• vecība
• vecums

References

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