# liels
## Latvian
### Etymology 1

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to decrease, to disappear; thin, slim, slender”) (maybe from the stem *el- (“hungry”)), with an extra suffix -l. The semantic development was probably: “thin, slender” > “long, tall (big in height)” > “remarkable because of size, significance”. A more recent suggestion derives liels from Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to pour, to flow, to drip”) (again with an extra -l), with the meaning changing from “to pour” > “to even, to smooth (by pouring, casting)” > “to iron, to press” > “to make thin by pressing (e.g., a metal sheet)” > “to extend, increase (by pressing),” from which the meaning “big, large”. Cognates include Lithuanian leĩlas (“thin, slender; thin, watery”), leĩnas (“thin, slender; thin, flexible”) (dialectal liẽlas (“big, large”) is a borrowing from Latvian), Old Prussian lailīsnan (“torture (accusative)”) (> infinitive *lailītwei, in turn from *leil- (“narrow, thin”)), Gothic 𐌻𐌴𐌹𐍄𐌹𐌻𐍃 (leitils, “small, little”) (from Proto-Germanic *lītilaz), Ancient Greek λειρός (leirós, “smooth, thin, delicate”) (compare λιμός (limós, “hunger, starvation”)).

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [līɛ̄ls]
* Audio:(file)

#### Adjective

liels (definite lielais, comparative lielāks, superlative vislielākais, adverb lieli)
* big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)
    liels trauks ― big bowl
    liels cilvēks, dzīvnieks ― large person, animal
    lielas rokas ― large hands
    liels ezers ― big lake
    liela pilsēta ― large city
* big, large (being more than the appropriate size)
    kurpes ir par lielām ― the shoes are too big
* big, large (going a longer distance)
    liels atvēziens ― big swing
* (of sounds) intense, loud
    mašīnu troksnis bija tik liels, ka cilvēku sarunas tikko varēja sadzirdēt ― the machine noise was so loud that one could hardly hear conversations
* high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)
    liels ātrums, blīvums, spiediens ― high speed, density, pressure
    liels svars ― great, heavy weight
    liels skaits ― large number, amount
    liels skaitlis ― large number, cipher
    liela peļņa ― large profit
    liela nauda ― large (sum of) money
    liels piena izlaukums ― high milk yield
    liela taukvielu koncentrācija ― high fat concentration
* used with numerical values (in the accusative)
    simt paskalu liels spiediens ― a pressure of (lit. big of) 100 pascals
    divas tonnas liela masa ― a mass of (lit. big of) two tons
    vienu metru liels diametrs ― a diameter of (lit. big of) one meter
    Andoras republikas teritorija ir 465 kvadrātkilometrus liela ― the territory of the Republic of Andorra is 465 square kilometers (lit. 465 square kilometers big)
* big, grown-up, adult
    Liene ar Juri izauga lieli ― Liene and Juri grew big (= grew up)
    lielie ļaudis nav slikti, vismaz tādi kā Ilgas vecmāmiņa ― big people (= grown-ups) are not bad, at least those like Ilga's grandmother
* big, large (having many members;)
    liela ģimene ― large family
* (of feelings, mental states) big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)
    liels uztraukums, nogurums ― big excitement, tiredness
    lielas bēdas ― great sorrow
    liela mīlestība ― great love
* big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)
    liels trūkums ― big drawback
    liela nabadzība ― great poverty
    dzīvot lielā pārticībā ― to live in great prosperity
    saņemt lielu dāvanu ― to receive a big present
* (of events, actions) more intense, with more intense effects
    liels uzbrukums ― large attack
    liela cīņa ― big fight
    lieli svētki ― big holidays, big celebration
* (of duty, position) important, influential
    liels amats ― great, important position, office
* (of situations) great, big (offering many possibilities)
    lielas priekšrocības ― great advantages
    liela izvēle ― big choice
* (of people) great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent
    liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs ― great craftsman, organizer, helper
    liela šuvēja ― great seamstress
    liels grāmatu lāsītājs ― great book reader
    liels makšķernieks ― great fisherman
    liels rakstnieks, gleznotājs, mūziķis, melis ― great writer, painter, musician, storyteller
    liels varonis ― great hero
    lieli draugi ― great friends
* (of people) big, important, rich
    liels muižnieks ― great lord, gentleman
    liels namīpašnieks ― great landlord
* (of events, art, time periods) great, major, important, significant, influential
    lielais karš ― the great war
    izvirzīt lielus mērķus ― to identify major goals
    lielais balets ― great ballet
    liels laikmets rada lielu dzeju ― a great era creates great poetry

##### Synonyms

* milzīgs, gigantisks
* prāvs

##### Antonyms

* mazs
* neliels
* sīks

##### Derived terms

* lielains, lielainums
* lielīgs, lielība
* lielisks, lieliskums
* lielums

### Etymology 2

From Proto-Indo-European *lei- (“to bend”), from the stem *el- (“to bend”), whence also elkonis (“elbow”); compare also laiva (“boat”), leja (“valley”). The original meaning was probably “bending, curvature.” A similar semantic development can be seen in Sanskrit आणिः (āṇiḥ, “leg above knee”) (< *arṇí- < *elni-), Armenian ոլոք (olokʻ, “shinbone”) (< *elok- / *olok-). Another suggestion has liels (“shin, calf (of leg)”) be the nominalized form of the adjective liels (“great, large, big”) with intonational change.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [liɛ̂ls]
* Audio:(file)

#### Noun

liels m (1st declension)
* (anatomy) shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)
    tikai nupat viņš sajuta sūrstošas sāpes kreisās kājas lielā ― only then did he feel a sharp pain in his left leg's shin
* an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

##### Synonyms

* (annual hard widening or growth on a tree): lielainums
* apakšstilbs, stilbs
* lielainums

### References

* 1 2 Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “liels”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca‎ (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN