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See also: aiz-




  1. Romanization of 𐌰𐌹𐌶



From Proto-Baltic *žō (with an extra formative a-: *a-žō > *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 , ažù (behind, out of, about), Proto-Slavic *za (behind, out of, about, by, after, because of) (Russian за (za)).[1]




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[edit]

Related terms[edit]


  1. ^ Karulis, Konstantīns (1992), “aiz”, in Latviešu Etimoloģijas Vārdnīca (in Latvian), Rīga: AVOTS, ISBN 9984-700-12-7