vālodze

(dialectal forms) valodze, vālūdze

The origin of this word is unclear. Some link it to Polish wołać (“to call, to cry, to shout”), and sometimes even further to Latvian valoda (“language”). Others, given the existence of Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic reflexes, reconstruct it to Proto-Indo-European. The most likely connection is perhaps with the adjective valgs (“humid”), since this bird is traditionally considered to announce the coming of rain; in this case, one might propose that vālodze comes from *vālange, a metathesized version of *vālgande; cf. the placename Valgunde. Cognates include Lithuanian volungė̃, vólungė, Proto-Slavic *jьvьlga (Russian и́волга (ívolga), Belarusian і́валга (ívalha), Ukrainian і́волга (ívolha), иво́лга (yvólha), Bulgarian авли́га (avlíga), Czech vlha, Polish wilga, wywilga), Middle High German witewal, English whitwall (“bird sp.”), Avestan 𐬬𐬁𐬭𐬆𐬔𐬀𐬥 (vār^əgan), 𐬬𐬁𐬭𐬆𐬥𐬔𐬀𐬥 (vār^əngan, “bird sp.”).[1]

• IPA^(key): [vāːluôdzɛ]

vālodze f (5th declension)

1. oriole (various colorful birds of the family Oriolidae, especially Oriolus oriolus)

   vālodzes dzīvo jauktos vai lapu koku mežos ― orioles live in mixed or deciduous forests

   vālodze ilgi vēl raudās sausās un tveicīgās dienās, līdz beidzot nāks atveldzinātājs lietus ― the oriole will cry for a long time in the hot, dry days, until finally the refreshing rain comes