In the article, the words zagt ‘to steal’ and zaglis ‘thief’ and other formatives of the verb zagt, which are the recent entries in the Historical Dictionary of Latvian (LVVV), are discussed, paying attention to how these entries are made and what problems the authors of the LVVV meet. The verb zagt (compare with Lithuanian žàgti), often used in the written sources of 16th–17th centuries, is at the basis of the word zaglis, and, for example, substantives zādzība, zadzējs, zagšana, adjective zadzīgs, adverb zagšu. These derivatives are mostly mentioned in the 17th-century dictionaries. In the early texts, only substantives zaglis and zādzība are often used. LVVV also has an entry of the reflexive verb zagties, as well as apzagties, sazagties, nozagties. The prefixed verbs derived from the verb zagt have the largest diversity; they are mainly used in the dictionary of Ch. Fürecker, for example, aizzagt, apzagt, nozagt, pazagt, pārzagt, sazagt etc. The semantics of these verbs is a difficult task for the authors of the LVVV. The basic word zagt is not characterised by semantic diversity; in the early texts, it is most often used in the concrete meaning ‘to steal’, also common for today’s user of Latvian, similarly to the word zaglis ‘thief’.The word zagt is common already in the texts at the end of the 16th century; it is often used in the religious texts of the 17th century and in the translation of the Bible – most often in the well-known context of the commandmend “Tev nebūs zagt” (You shall not steal). In the Bible, an extraordinary word group zagt sirdi ‘to steal the heart’ is used, supposedly, with a meaning ‘to cheat, to deceive’. The word zaglis in early Latvian texts has several characteristic word groups, for example, kā zaglis naktī ‘as a thief in the night’, zagļi un slepkavas ‘thieves and murderers’, an idiom karsts zaglis ‘hot thief’, also a proverb “Zaglis dabū zagļa algu” (A thief gets thief’s pay) is often used. The derivatives of the verb zagt (zagšu, nozagties) have a meaning connected with a secret action and movement; in modern Latvian, it is characteristic of the reflexive verb zagties ‘to steal, to sneak’. Also, the word groups, for example, kā zaglis ‘as a thief’ or kā zaglis naktī ‘as a thief in the night’, have this shade of meaning ‘secretely, unnoticed, stealthily’. Such semantic parallels of the verbs zagt, zagties (taking another person’s property/secret action, movement) are characteristic of many Indo-European languages.
Read full abstract
Dec 8, 2023
Joy Hunter 
Open Access
