laiks

Laiks is a Latvian noun with two primary meanings: time and weather. It can also refer to a period or era, for example when speaking of a historical timeframe or a particular era. The word is frequently used in everyday speech as well as in formal prose, and it appears in many common phrases and compound terms.

Etymology and cognates: Laiks is a Baltic language term, closely related to the Lithuanian laikas, both meaning time. The word is deeply integrated into Latvian grammar and daily expression, and it also serves as the basis for several related forms and compounds.

Meanings and usage: In the sense of time, laiks denotes the ongoing continuum or a specific moment, and it is used in phrases such as laika gaitā (in the course of time) and pēc laika (after a while). In the sense of weather, laiks refers to atmospheric conditions, as in labs laiks (good weather) or slikts laiks (bad weather). The plural laiki can indicate different times or eras, such as historical laiki or different moments in history. Related terms include laikmets (era or epoch) and laika posms (time period). A common compound is laikraksts, meaning a newspaper or periodical, literally a written record of the times.

Cultural and linguistic notes: Laiks is a central concept in Latvian, shaping expressions related to duration, scheduling, forecasts, and historical periods. It also appears in everyday idioms and in the naming of publications and institutions that reference time or periodical activity.

See also: Time, Weather, Latvian language.