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ciets

Pronunciation: [tsiɛ̂ts]

“ciets” is a Latvian word. Its 19 meanings in English:

adjective

  1. solid (having stable form)
  2. hard, solid, rigid (difficult to split, crush, bend, etc.)
  3. hard, solid (having a layer of rock, or snow, or ice)
  4. hard, solid (strong, difficult to fold or bend; made of such fabric, cloth)
  5. hard (not soft, resistant to pressure)
  6. hard (difficult to bend or break)
  7. hard, hardened (having strong, harsh skin)
  8. thick, strong
  9. hard (difficult to bend, squeeze, trim, prune)
  10. hard (difficult to bite and chew)
  11. hard, tough (strong, determined, uncompromising, ruthless)
  12. hard, stiff
  13. hard, definite, clear, inalterable (syn. ciešs)
  14. rigid, definite, determined (which cannot be arbitrarily changed)
  15. hard, strong, determined
  16. tight (syn. ciešs)
  17. hard (which contains salts, usually of calcium and magnesium)
  18. strong, sharp
  19. tight(ly) close, close together (syn. ciešs, cieši)

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *kietas, from *keitas, from Proto-Indo-European *key- (“to set in motion, to move”) with an extra (adjectivizing) suffix -to-s. A parallel form with -tyo-s (*keityas, *kietyas) yielded Latvian ciešs (“tight”). Meaning change: “moving” > “happy, safe, healthy” > “strong, rigid” > “hard.” Cognates include Lithuanian ki̇́etas, Sudovian kit, Old Prussian keytaro (“hail, greeting”),…

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Definitions are from Wiktionary, extracted by Kaikki.org, and are available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.