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liels

Pronunciation: [ˈlīɛ̄ls]

“liels” is a Latvian word. Its 18 meanings in English:

adjective

  1. big, large (being more than the size of other similar objects, creatures, etc.)
  2. big, large (being more than the appropriate size)
  3. big, large (going a longer distance)
  4. intense, loud
  5. high, great, large (having a higher numerical value than usual or normal)
  6. used with numerical values (in the accusative)
  7. big, grown-up, adult
  8. big, large (having many members;)
  9. big, intense (more intense, more intensely felt)
  10. big, major, important (having strong influence, being strongly felt, having an impact)
  11. more intense, with more intense effects
  12. important, influential
  13. great, big (offering many possibilities)
  14. great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent
  15. big, important, rich
  16. great, major, important, significant, influential

noun

  1. shin (part of the leg from the knee to the ankle; syn. apakšstilbs, stilbs)
  2. an annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)

Etymology

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…

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