aiz

See also: aiz-

Gothic

Romanization

aiz

1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌹𐌶

Latvian

Etymology

From Proto-Baltic *žō (with an extra formative a-: *a-źō > *ažuo > *ažu), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰō (“behind, under, out of, because of”), itself perhaps a pronominal instrumental form from the *gʰe, *gʰo, a stem found in several particles, like Latvian nedz (“neither, nor”) < *ne-gi. In Latvian, the final vowel was lost, yielding az, still dialectally attested, and also in some place names (Azpurve) and as a prefix in some words in the literary language (azaids (“meal”), azote (“bosom”)). Some dialects have a longer, and more recent, form āz. The standard form, aiz, has an unexpected i, possibly the result of convergence between az and iz (“from”). Cognates include Lithuanian dialectal až, ažù (“behind, out of, about”), Proto-Slavic *za (“behind, out of, about, by, after, because of”), Russian за (za).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [àjs]

• Audio:

  (file)

Preposition

aiz (with genitive)

1. behind

   paslēpties aiz liela koka ― to hide behind a large tree

   aiz stūra ― around (lit. behind) the corner

   atstādams aiz sevis garu putekļu grīsti ― leaving behind himself a long trail of dust

   apspriede notika aiz slēgtām durvīm ― the discussion took place behind closed doors

2. behind, under, into (so that it is covered)

   saule aizgrimst aiz mākoņiem ― the sun sank behind the clouds

   puisēns aizbaza īkšķus aiz bikšu lencēm ― the boy inserted his thumbs behind, under his suspenders

   aiz īsajiem cimdiem zvejniekiem tek sāļais ūdens ― the salty water was leaking into, under the fishermen's short gloves

3. on the other side of, across, beyond

   māja ir aiz ezera ― the house is on the other side of the lake

   šodien pļauj aiz meža ― today they are harvesting on the other side of the forest

   Ivanovas darbs pazīstams tālu aiz mūsu zemes robežām ― Ivanova's work is known far beyond the borders of our country

4. by (indicates touching, seizing, holding)

   paņemt, vest aiz rokas ― to take, to lead (someone) by the hand

   satvert zēnu aiz apkakles ― to grab the boy by the collar

   saķert suņu aiz astes ― to grab the dog by the tail

5. after (indicating a sequence)

   viņi gāja cits aiz cita ― they went one after the other

   Lilija nāk; aiz viņas pa pēdām mamma ― Lily is coming; after her, mum's footsteps

   aiz' tankiem nāca kājnieki ― after the tanks came the infantry

6. out of, of, because of, for (indicates a reason, a motive, a goal)

   gavilēt aiz prieka ― to shout, exult out of joy

   raudāt aiz bēdām ― to cry (out) of grief

   viņi smējās aiz cita iemesla ― they were laughing for another reason

   aiz dusmām viņš nevar parunāt ― out of anger he could not speak

Derived terms

• aizkuņģa

Related terms

• aiz-