žirgts

From a (no longer extant) verb žirgt (“to liven up, to freshen up”) (the r follows the pattern of stingt (“to harden, stiffen”), stingrs (“firm, strong, strict”)), from Proto-Baltic *žirgt(e)y, from *žerg-, *žirg-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- (“to shine, to glow”) with an extra -g (without this -g, this stem yielded Lithuanian ži̇̀rti (“to sparkle”)). In Latvian, the Proto-Baltic initial ž was conserved, maybe for onomatopoeic expressive reasons; note that the (possibly) related term zirgs (“horse”) has the expected initial z. The meaning changed from “(that which) shines, glows” to “happy, cheerful, joyous” and finally “lively, brisk, alert.”^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ʒīɾkts]

žirgts (definite žirgtais, comparative žirgtāks, superlative visžirgtākais, adverb žirgti)

1. lively, vivacious, brisk, sprightly, healthy, active, alert (having strength and vitality; being ready for action)

   slimnieks šodien ir itin žirgts ― the patient is quite lively today

   žirgts kumeļš, teļš ― brisk, sprightly colt, calf

   Laimdotas māte vēl bija gluži žirgta, taču ne pārāk steidzīga ― Laimdota's mother was still quite sprightly, but not very hasty

   mazie, žirgtie pīlēni pēkstēdami veikli skraida viņai pakaļ ― the small, vivacious little ducklings deftly ran after her (= their mother)

2. lively, vivacious, brisk, sprightly, healthy, active, alert (expressing such qualities; compatible with, predisposing to, such qualities)

   žirgtas acis ― lively, vivacious eyes

   ar žirgtu smaidu ― with a vivacious smile

   no televizora skanēja hokeja komentētāja žirgtā balss ― the hokey commentator's lively voice resounded from the TV set

   sniegs ir drusku piesalis, un žirgtais baltums piedod ielām un parkiem sen neredzētu tīru gaišumu ― the snow had frozen a little, and the vivacious whiteness gave the streets and parks a clean brightness that had not been seen for a long time

• (of "active"): aktīvs, darbīgs, kustīgs, rosīgs
• (of "lively", "alert"): dzīvs, modrs, možs, mundrs, spirgts

• žirgtums

• zirgs