tāss

Alternative forms

• (dialectal forms) tāsis, tāse
• (dialectal forms) tāsts, tāste

Etymology

From verb tāst, an archaic and dialectal variant of test, tēst (“to cut, to hew, to trim”); the form follows the pattern of lest, lēst, lāse (compare dialectal forms tāsis, tāse; compare also other dialectal variants above). A comparable synonym term exists in Balto-Finnic languages (e.g., Finnish tuohi) which suggests borrowing between Baltic and Balto-Finnic, but the direction of the borrowing is not clear. Cognates include Lithuanian tóšis.^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [tāːss]

Noun

tāss f (6th declension)

1. birchbark (white bark of the birch tree, formerly used as writing material)

   bērzu tāss ― birch bark

   tāšu iekuri ― birch (bark) kindling

   tāšu darva ― birch (bark) tar

   tāšu taure ― birch (bark) horn

References