[ˈlīɛ̄ls]
CilmeFrom 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 lei̇̃las (“thin, slender; thin, watery”), lei̇̃nas (“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”)).
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- more intense, with more intense effects
“liels uzbrukums” — large attack
“liela cīņa” — big fight
“lieli svētki” — big holidays, big celebration
- important, influential
“liels amats” — great, important position, office
- great, big (offering many possibilities)
“lielas priekšrocības” — great advantages
“liela izvēle” — big choice
- great, very skilled; passionate; notable, excellent
“liels amatnieks, organizators, palīgs” — great craftsman, organizer, helper
“liela šuvēja” — great seamstress
“liels grāmatu lāsītājs” — great book reader
- big, important, rich
“liels muižnieks” — great lord, gentleman
“liels namīpašnieks” — great landlord
- great, major, important, significant, influential
“lielais karš” — the great war
“izvirzīt lielus mērķus” — to identify major goals
“lielais balets” — great ballet
- declension-1, masculineshin (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
- declension-1, masculinean annual hard widening or growth on a tree (especially conifer) trunk on one side (e.g., on spruces)
Formaslielais(definite) · lielāks(comparative) · vislielākais(superlative) · lieli(adverb) · liels(masculine, nominative, singular) · lieli(masculine, nominative, plural) · liela(feminine, nominative, singular) · lielas(feminine, nominative, plural) · liela(genitive, masculine, singular) · lielu(genitive, masculine, plural) · lielas(feminine, genitive, singular) · lielu(feminine, genitive, plural) · lielam(dative, masculine, singular) · lieliem(dative, masculine, plural) · lielai(dative, feminine, singular) · lielām(dative, feminine, plural) · lielu(accusative, masculine, singular) · lielus(accusative, masculine, plural) · lielu(accusative, feminine, singular) · lielas(accusative, feminine, plural)