laukas

Etymology

Cognate with Latvian lauks and Old Prussian laukinikis (“landowner”), from Proto-Indo-European *lowkós (“bright place, clearing”); compare Proto-Germanic *lauhaz (“meadow, grove”) (Old English lēah (“clearing”), English lea), Latin lūcus (“sacred grove”) and Sanskrit लोक (loká-, “free space, world”).^[1] Apparently further derived from Proto-Indo-European *lewk- (“bright”); compare Old Prussian luckis, Proto-Slavic *lúčь (“ray of light”) and Latin lūx (“light”).

A similar semantic progression can be observed in aiškus (“clear, bright”) > aikštė (“clearing, open space”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlɒʊ.kɐs/

Noun

laũkas m (plural laukaĩ) stress pattern 4

1. field (land area free of woodland, settlements; land used for agriculture, grazing)
2. outside, the outdoors
3. an area notable for a certain property or occurrence

   mū̃šio laũkas - battlefield

   (geography) lẽdo laũkas - icefield

4. (military, in the genitive) field (which happens in, or is suitable for, deployment or combat situations)
5. (physics) field (the area affected by a force or other physical phenomenon)

   magnètinis laũkas - magnetic field

References

Anagrams

• kaulas