Wordy Wednesday: Modes of Transportation II

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Let's finish last week's Wordy Wednesday topic off today!

  • lidot : to fly [slider title="conjugate me"] lidot , 2. konj. (long)
    tag. lidoju, lido, lido, lidojam, lidojat
    pag. lidoju, lidoji, lidoja, lidojām, lidojāt
    nak. lidošu, lidosi, lidos, lidosim, lidosiet / lidosit
    pav. lido, lidojiet[/slider]

Interestingly, one of the most popular restaurant chains in Latvia is named Lido. I'm told there's no relation, however.

  • lidosta : airport [slider title="decline me"] lidosta , f, 4. dekl.
    vsk.: lidosta, lidostas, lidostai, lidostu, ar lidostu, lidostā
    dsk.: lidostas, lidostu, lidostām, lidostas, ar lidostām, lidostās[/slider]

Yep, built from lidot, a lidosta is a place for flying. There is a Lido in Rīgas lidosta!

  • taksometrs : taxi, cab [slider title="decline me"] taksometrs , m, 1. dekl.
    vsk.: taksometrs, taksometra, taksometram, taksometru, ar taksometru, taksometrā
    dsk.: taksometri, taksometru, taksometriem, taksometrus, ar taksometriem, taksometros [/slider]

From how this one is built, I wonder if the word "taxi" was brought over and combined with the "meter" that runs inside of it to illustrate that this form of travel is metered by time and distance rather than how everything else works.

  • zebra : zebra, coll. crosswalk [slider title="decline me"] zebra , f, 4. dekl.
    vsk.: zebra, zebras, zebrai, zebru, ar zebru, zebrā
    dsk.: zebras, zebru, zebrām, zebras, ar zebrām, zebrās[/slider]

How cute is that? I think this is probably from British slang, since we don't use it here in America. We ought to, it's a fun way to refer to crosswalks. The crosswalks do somewhat look like zebra stripes, after all.

  • ietve : sidewalk [slider title="decline me"] ietve , f, 5. dekl.
    vsk.: ietve, ietves, ietvei, ietvi, ar ietvi, ietvē
    dsk.: ietves, ietvju, ietvēm, ietves, ar ietvēm, ietvēs[/slider]

The iet you see is the infinitive for "to go" and the word is structured around it. Essentially a sidewalk is a place you go or walk.

  • gājējs : pedestrian [slider title="decline me"] gājējs , m, 1. dekl.
    vsk.: gājējs, gājēja, gājējam, gājēju, ar gājēju, gājējā
    dsk.: gājēji, gājēju, gājējiem, gājējus, ar gājējiem, gājējos[/slider]

All the js make this one a pain to type. A pedestrian is a "going person" - there isn't a specific verb for "to walk", instead it's classed as "to go" as you can see in the related word for sidewalk. My husband tells me that he thinks the past tense of iet is used because the present would make it sound terrible. Iejējs? Ugh, talk about hard to say.