Latvian

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Etymology

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From Proto-Baltic *spyau-ti (for another example of a *py > pļ change, see pļaut), from Proto-Indo-European *p(ʰ)yēw-, *sp(ʰ)yēw- (to spit). Cognates include Lithuanian spiáuti, Proto-Slavic *pjuti (Russian плева́ть (plevátʹ), 1st. pers. pres. плюю́ (pljujú), Belarusian плюва́ць (pljuvácʹ), Ukrainian плюва́ти (pljuváty), Bulgarian плю́я (pljúja, I spit), Czech plíti, plvati, Polish pluć, plwać, spluwać), Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌴𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽 (speiwan), Old High German spīwan, German speien, Sanskrit ष्ठीवति (ṣṭhīvati), Ancient Greek πτύω (ptúō), Latin spuō.[1]

Pronunciation

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Verb

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spļaut (transitive or intransitive, 1st conjugation, present spļauju, spļauj, spļauj, past spļāvu)

  1. (intransitive) to spit, to expectorate (to push, throw saliva or sputum out of one's mouth)
    uz ietves aizliegts spļautit is prohibited to spit on the sidewalk
    spļaut uz visām pusēmto spit on all sides
    pavasarī viņš reižu reizēm iznāca ārā no smēdes, pieķērās pie žoga un dažreiz it ilgi klepoja un spļāvasometimes in spring he came out of the forge, held on to the fence and sometimes coughed and spat for a long time
  2. (transitive) to spit (to push, throw something out of one's mouth)
    slimnieks spļauj asinisthe patient is spitting blood
    spļaut ķiršu kauliņus zemēto spit cherry pits on the ground
    ej nost zirgam no galvas, kad tas putas no mutes spļauj un pakaviem zemi kārpa!go away from a horse when he spits foam from his mouth and scrapes the ground with his hooves!

Conjugation

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Derived terms

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prefixed verbs:
other derived terms:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992) “spļaut”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca[1] (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN