laimė
Lithuanian
Etymology
Related to Latvian laime, Old Prussian laeims (laims, “rich”), with further origin disputed:[1]
- Per Fraenkel, from the same root as léisti (“to allow”). The verbal form is attested with a now-rare meaning of "to create", which Fraenkel uses to bolster his argument.
- Per Smoczynski, from a secondary o-grade of lémti (“to determine”).
It is worth noting that the root underlying this word also serves as the namesake of Laima, the Baltic goddess of fate and pregnancy.
Noun
laimė f (plural laimės)
Declension
| singular (vienaskaita) |
plural (daugiskaita) | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative (vardininkas) | laimė | laimės |
| genitive (kilmininkas) | laimės | laimių |
| dative (naudininkas) | laimei | laimėms |
| accusative (galininkas) | laimę | laimes |
| instrumental (įnagininkas) | laime | laimėmis |
| locative (vietininkas) | laimėje | laimėse |
| vocative (šauksmininkas) | laime | laimės |
References
- ^ Derksen, Rick (2015) “laimė”, in Etymological Dictionary of the Baltic Inherited Lexicon (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 13), Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, pages 269-70