zirgs

Etymology

There are diverging opinions on the origin of this word. The one most likely to be true connects zirgs to the adjective žirgts (“brisk, lively, alert”) (q.v.) from the (no longer in usage) verb žirgt (“to liven up, to freshen up”). The original meaning would therefore have been “brisk, agile (animal),” from which “fast runner” and then “horse” (probably via “stallion,” a meaning still attested dialectally for the Lithuanian cognate). Others links zirgs to Latin grex (“herd, flock”), or to Lithuanian žir̃gti, žer̃gti (“to sit astraddle, to sit; to spread one's legs; to walk with one's legs raised high”), or perhaps to Lithuanian žer̃ti (“to scrape, to scratch; (of horse) to paw”), Armenian ձար (jar, “mane”), or to Old Norse građr (“not castrated”). Cognates include Lithuanian žìrgas (“good, beautiful horse; steed”), Old Prussian sirgis ([zirgis], “stallion”), Sudovian zirgo (“horse”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [zîɾks]

Noun

zirgs m (1st declension)

1. horse (esp. Equus caballus; generic word)

   šķirnes zirgs ― breed horse

   darba zirgs ― work horse

   sacīkšu zirgs ― race horse

   neiebraukts zirgs ― a horse that has not been run in

   braukt ar zirgu ― to ride (on) a horse

   zirgs rikšo, auļo ― the horse trots, gallops

   zirgs zviedz ― the horse neighs

   apkalt zirgu ― to shoe a horse

   dzirdīt zirgus pie akas ― to make the horses drink at the well

   jūgt zirgu arklā ― to harness a horse to a plow

   strādā kā zirgs ― (s/he) works like a horse

References