cietums

From ciets (“hard, solid”) +‎ -ums.

cietums m (1st declension)

1. prison (government institution where people are kept before trial, or while serving their sentences after trial)

   ieslodzīt cietumā ― to lock (someone) up in prison

   cietuma kamera ― prison cell

2. (figuratively) prison (place where freedom of movement is limited, where living conditions are difficult)

   cariskā Krievija ir tautu cietums ― czarist Russia is the prison of peoples, nations

3. (chiefly in the singular) hardness, solidity, thickness (the quality of that which is hard, solid)

   vielas cietums ― the hardness of a substance

   fizikāla ķermeņa cietums ― the hardness of a physical body

   granīta cietums ― the hardness of granite

   matu īpašības, piemēram, to cietums un rupjums, zināmā mērā ir atkarīgas no iedzimtības ― hair properties, for instance, its thickness and roughness, are to a certain extent dependent on heredity

4. hard spot, lump (in the human body)

   cietums delnā ― a hard spot, lump on the palm of the hand

   zemādas cietumi ― subcutaneous lumps, hard spots

5. (chiefly singular; of water) hardness (the quality of containing salts of calcium or magnesium)

   samazināt ūdens cietumu ― to reduce the hardness of the water

• cietība