полечь

Russian

Etymology

по- (po-) +‎ лечь (lečʹ)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [pɐˈlʲet͡ɕ]

Verb

поле́чь • (poléčʹpf (imperfective полега́ть)

  1. (perfective only) to die or be killed in battle (of all or many people)
  2. (perfective only, colloquial) to lie down (of all or many people)
    • 1969, “Журавли (Žuravli) [Cranes]”, Наум Гребнев [Naum Grebnev] (lyrics), Ян Френкель [Yan Frenkel] (music)‎[1]performed by Марк Бернес [Mark Bernes], translation of ХъахӀал къункъраби by Расул Гамзатов [Rasul Gamzatov] (in Avar):
      Мне кажется порою, что солдаты,
      С кровавых не пришедшие полей,
      Не в землю нашу полегли когда-то,
      А превратились в белых журавлей.
      Mne kažetsja poroju, što soldaty,
      S krovavyx ne prišedšije polej,
      Ne v zemlju našu polegli kogda-to,
      A prevratilisʹ v belyx žuravlej.
      It seems to me at times, that soldiers,
      Who did not return from the blood-stained fields,
      Never lay down in this earth of ours,
      But turned into white cranes.
  3. to bend to the ground (of cereal grains or trees)

Conjugation

Derived terms

  • полега́ние (polegánije)
  • полега́емость (polegájemostʹ)