# ūdens
## Latvian
### Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *ūden- (or perhaps from Proto-Balto-Slavic *wandō), from the r/n-heteroclitic Proto-Indo-European noun *wódr̥, *wédōr, itself from a stem *wed- (“to moisten”).
In Latvian, only the n-form of the stem survived in ūdens, but the r-form can be seen in the related term ūdrs (“otter”). The lack of initial v in Latvian also suggests that a specific dialectal term was generalized: v-initial forms can still be found in geographic names (e.g. the river Vadakste, the word vads in its dialectal senses: creek, swampy forest, etc., and place names derived from it, like Mēnešvads, Alkšņa vads, etc.).
Cognates include Lithuanian vanduõ, dialectal unduõ, únduo, Old Prussian unds m, wundan n, Proto-Slavic *voda (Old Church Slavonic, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Russian вода́ (vodá), Czech voda, Polish woda), Old Church Slavonic вѣдро (vědro, “small vessel”), Russian ведро́ (vedró, “bucket”), Ukrainian відро́ (vidró), Czech vědro, Polish wiadro, Proto-Germanic *watōr (Gothic 𐍅𐌰𐍄𐍉 (watō), Old High German wazzar, German Wasser, English water, wet), Hittite wātar (< *wódr̥), Sanskrit उदन् (udán), Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr), Latin unda (“wave”) (from *udn- with metathesis).

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [ûːdɛns]
* Audio:(file)

### Noun

ūdens m (2nd declension, irregular nominative, genitive)
* water (transparent liquid substance formed by hydrogen and oxygen; H₂O)
    smagais ūdens ― heavy water (hydrogen peroxyde, H₂O₂)
    ūdens molekula ― water molecule, H₂O
    tīrs, skaidrs ūdens ― clean, clear water
    dzeramais ūdens ― drinking (lit. drinkable) water
    duļķains ūdens ― muddy water
    mīksts, ciets ūdens ― soft, hard water
    vārīts, destilēts, gāzēts ūdens ― boiled, distilled, carbonated water
    jūras, upes, lietus ūdens ― sea, river, rain water
    ūdens ceļš, ūdensceļš ― waterway
    saldūdens, sālsūdens ― freshwater, saltwater
    atmosfēras, augsnes ūdens ― atmospheric, soil water
    artēziskais ūdens ― artesian water
    tējas, kafijas ūdens ― tea, coffee water (i.e., boiled for tea, coffee)
    svētais ūdens ― holy water
    ūdens saturs šķīdumā ― the water content of a solution
    ūdens lāse, strūkla ― a drop, a spray of water
    ūdens tvaiks ― water vapor
    ūdens krājumi, resursi ― water supplies, resources
    ūdens apgāde ― water supply (system)
    ūdens tek, plūst, pil ― water is leaking, flowing, dripping
    smelt, dzert, attīrīt ūdeni ― to draw, to drink, to purify water
    ūdenī šķīstoša viela ― a substance soluble in water
    mazgāties aukstā ūdenī ― to wash in cold water
    ūdens tilpe, ūdenstilpe ― water body, wetland
    ūdens līmenis ― water level
    virs, zem ūdens ― above, under water
    ūdens nelaime ― sea (lit. water) accident
    ūdens riņķojums dabā ― the cycle of water in nature
* (in the plural) waters (large amounts, large bodies of water)
    virszemes, sauszemes ūdeņi ― surface, land water (lit. waters)
    pazemes ūdeņi ― groundwater, underground water (lit. waters)
    ārstnieciskie ūdeņi ― healing waters (e.g., at a spa)
    palu ūdeņi ― flood water (lit. waters)
    termālie ūdeņi ― thermal water) (lit. waters)
* (in the plural) water (a body, bodies of water with a specific use, or belonging to a specific region or country)
    zvejas ūdeņi ― fishing waters
    teritoriālie ūdeņi ― territorial waters
    iekšējie ūdeņi ― internal, inland waters
    starptautiskie ūdeņi ― international waters
* (genitive, used adjectivally) water, aquatic, aqua- (using, relating to water)
    ūdens terapija, diēta ― water therapy, diet
    ūdens dziednīca ― water (health) resort, spa
    ūdens apkure ― water heating
    'ūdens turbīna ― water turbine
    'ūdens spainis, sūknis ― water bucket, pump
    ūdens pulkstenis ― water clock
    ūdens šķīdums ― water solution
    ūdens krāns ― water valve
* (genitive, used adjectivally) water, aquatic (relating to bodies of water)
    ūdens transports ― water transport
    ūdenssports ― water sports
    ūdensslēpes ― water skis
    ūdens polo ― water polo
* (genitive, used adjectivally) water, aquatic (which lives, is situated, in or near bodies of water, or in water-rich areas)
    ūdens augi, ūdensaugi ― aquatic plants
    ūdens lilija, ūdens roze, ūdensroze ― water lily
    ūdens zāle, ūdenszāle ― seaweed (lit. water weed)
    ūdens dzīvnieki, ūdensdzīvnieki ― aquatic animals
    ūdens putni, ūdensputni ― aquatic birds
    ūdens gliemji, kukaiņi ― aquatic mollusks, insects
* (of cosmetic products) water (a water solution containing also alcohol, oils, herbal extracts)
    sejas ūdens ― face water
    tualetes ūdens ― eau-de-toilette, eau-de-cologne
* (colloquial, of texts, words) watery, uninteresting, boring; empty, meaningless
    ūdens gabals ― piece of water (= contentless, excessively long text)
    tu slauc pareizu pienu, bet, mīļā māt, tavas meitas dzied dziesmas, kam ūdens klāt! ― you milk good milk, but, dear mother, your daughters sing songs that are covered with water

#### Derived terms

* minerālūdens
* tualetes ūdens
* ūdenspolo
* ūdensvads
* ūdensvīrs
* ūdeņains, ūdeņainība, ūdeņainums
* ūdeņradis
* zemūdene
* ziepjūdens

### References

* ↑ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “ūdens”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca‎ (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
* ūdens at tezaurs.lv