svece

There are three main hypotheses on the origin of this word: (a) from the same source as sveķi (“resin”) (q.v.): Proto-Indo-European *sʷekʷ-os (“juice, resin”), whence Proto-Baltic *sʷek-as > *sveke, plural *sveki with a number of variants, among which svece; (b) from an earlier *zvece, cognate with Lithuanian žvãkė (“candle”), both from Proto-Baltic *žvak-, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰʷokʷ- (“to shine”); or (c) borrowed from Old East Slavic свѣча (svěča) (cf. Russian све́ча (svéča)), from Proto-Slavic *svěťa (but note that ě should yield ie or ē in Latvian, not a simple e, which weakens this hypothesis).^[1]

• IPA^(key): [ˈsvɛt͡sːɛ]

svece f (5th declension)

1. candle (source of light)

   aizdegt sveci ― to light a candle

   sveču gaisma ― candlelight

   eglīšu sveces ― Christmas tree candles

   gultas galvgalī misiņa lukturī dega pašu lieta tauku svece ― at the head of the bed, a fat candle was burning in a brass lantern

2. spark plug (ignition device in a combustion engine)

   aizdedzes svece ― spark plug (lit. ignition candle)

   šoferis pārbaudīja motoram sveces ― the driver checked the engine plugs

3. (physics) unit of luminous intensity

   starptautiskā svece ― international candle (= candela)

   dega viena vienīga piecdesmit sveču gaismas spuldzīte ― a single small 50-candela light bulb was burning

• sveču mēnesis