laimė

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Lithuanian[edit]

Laimė (1)

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

laimė f (plural laimės)

  1. happiness
  2. success, good fortune
  3. destiny

Declension[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ 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