-ú

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

• IPA^(key):

-ú

1. (adjective-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an adjective denoting possession or similarity. It is used only in parasynthetic compounds, requiring a preceding adjective or a compound structure. Similar in function to English -ed.

   nagy (“big”) + láb (“foot”) → nagy lábú ember (“a man with big feet / a big-footed man”)

   vörös (“red”) + haj (“hair”) → vörös hajú (“redheaded”)

2. (obsolete present-participle suffix) Found today only in a few words such as homorú (“concave”, adjective), szigorú (“strict”, adjective), nyomorú (“miserable”, adjective).

• (adjective-forming suffix): Variants:

  -ú is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant

  -ű is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant

  -jú is added to back-vowel words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-.

  -jű is added to front-vowel words ending in a vowel. Final -e changes to -é-.

• (present-participle suffix) Variants:

  -ó is added to back-vowel verbs

  -ő is added to front-vowel verbs

  -ú is added to back-vowel verbs, obsolete

  homorú, nyomorú, szigorú

  -ű is added to front-vowel verbs, obsolete

  keserű, seprű

• Appendix:Hungarian suffixes

From -aigh +‎ -adh.

• -iú (slender form)
• -ughadh (obsolete)

-ú m

2. Regular verbal noun of second-conjugation verbs, notably verbs in -aigh.

   ‎tosaigh (“begin”) + ‎-ú → ‎tosú (“commencement”)

   ‎uraigh (“eclipse”, verb) + ‎-ú → ‎urú (“eclipse”, noun)

From Old Irish -mad, from Proto-Celtic *-metos; compare Welsh -fed. Cognate with Scottish Gaelic -amh.

• -mhadh (superseded)

-ú

2. -th (suffix forming ordinal numbers)

   ‎ocht (“eight”) + ‎-ú → ‎ochtú (“eighth”)