pirkt

Latvian

Etymology

This word is traditionally derived from Proto-Baltic *per-k-, *pr̥k-, from Proto-Indo-European *per- (“taking over, past something”) (whence Latvian prepositions par, pār, q.v.), as a verb “to take over, past (somewhere)” > “to take (somewhere) to sell” > “to sell”, with an extra k. With this meaning, cf. Ancient Greek περνάναι (pernánai), πιπράσκειν (pipráskein, “to sell, to export”), and Old Irish renim (“I sell”) (< *pr̥-nā-). In the Baltic languages, the meaning “to sell” became “to buy,” given the nature of buying and selling as two aspects of the same two-sided event. From the same stem also prece (“product, ware, merchandise”), q.v. A more recent suggestion is that pirkt may derive from another Proto-Indo-European stem *per- (“to hit”) (whence pērkons (“thunder”), q.v.), with as original meaning “to rob, to plunder;” in several Indo-European languages, verbs of buying originate from verbs of taking (cf. Latin emere (“to buy”), earlier “to take”). Cognates include Lithuanian pir̃kti.[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pìɾkt]

Verb

pirkt (tr., 1st conj., pres. pērku, pērc, pērk, past pirku)

  1. to buy, to purchase (to obtain, to acquire something by paying an appropriate amount of money)
    pirkt pārtiku ― to buy groceries
    pirkt lakatu, zābakus ― to buy a scarf, boots
    pirkt gleznu ― to buy a painting
    pirkt biļetes ― to buy tickets
    dārgi, lēti pirkt ― to buy at an expensive, cheap price
    izdēvīgi pirkt ― to buy at a convenient price
    pirkt par skaidru naudu ― to buy (for) cash (lit. for clear money)
    pirkt skaidrā naudā ― to buy cash (lit. in clear money)
    pirkt uz kredīta, uz nomaksu ― to buy on credit, by installments
    viņš brauca uz Igauniju pirkt jaunu zirgu ― he went to Estonia to buy a new horse
    viņa pirka tikai pašu visnepieciešamako ― she bought only the most necessary (things)
    visi pērk, tātad arī man jāpērk ― everybody is buying, so I also have to buy
  2. (figuratively) to buy (to obtain something with effort, with sacrifice)
    par milzīgu asinscenu pirkta uzvara pār fašismu ― the victory over fascism was bought with an enormous price in blood

Conjugation

Antonyms

Derived terms

prefixed verbs:
  • appirkt
  • atpirkt
  • iepirkt
  • izpirkt
  • nopirkt
  • piepirkt
  • sapirkt
  • uzpirkt
other derived terms:

References

  1. Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “pirkt”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, →ISBN
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