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Appendix:Hungarian words with an alternating final vowel. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
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Words with an alternating final vowel (Hungarian hangszínt és időtartamot váltakoztató tövek (literally “stems alternating vowel quality and length”)) change their word-final vowel ó (sometimes ú) to a and ő to e in their third-person possessive forms and sometimes in other forms as well, such as before the adjective-forming -i and -ú/-ű/-jú/-jű, as well as the verb-forming -z.
Many of these variants (though not all) are archaic.
If the possessive denotes ownership rather than inalienable possession (body part or familial relation), the regular possessive is normally preferred: az ács ajtója (“the carpenter's door”) versus a ház ajtaja (“the door of the house”).
Alternation still in use
| Word |
Meaning |
Notes
|
| ajtó |
door |
|
| apró |
small part |
today only in apraja-nagyja; regular elsewhere
|
| első |
first |
only as a day of the month
|
| erdő |
forest, woods |
|
| erő |
strength, force |
|
| esztendő |
year |
dated or literary
|
| fattyú |
bastard, by-blow |
|
| fő |
head; chief |
its alternant is already lexicalized (together with the consonant of the possessive) as fej (“head”)
|
| idő |
time |
before other suffixes as well, e.g. ideig (“for time/while”)
|
| késő |
late |
currently only in kései (“belated”)
|
| kettő |
two |
in forms like kettejük (“ two of them”)
|
| mező |
field |
the alternating form is less common in the technical senses of field
|
| szülő |
parent |
currently only with multiple possessions, i.e., one's both parents
|
| tető |
roof; peak |
also in the derived verb tetéz
|
| tüdő |
lung |
|
| velő |
marrow; brains; gist |
|
| vő |
son-in-law |
its alternant is partly lexicalized (together with the consonant of the possessive) as vej
|
| zászló |
flag |
the alternating form is somewhat literary
|
Some more terms expressing spatial relations, typically with possessive suffixes:
| Word |
Meaning |
Notes
|
| belső |
inside |
|
| elő (archaic) |
front part |
in the archaism also in the sense “one's ancestors” (plural possessive)
|
| felső/fölső |
upper part |
|
| külső |
outside |
|
These words are distinguished from words with a fleeting final vowel, where the final vowel element is part of the suffix.
Alternation only in the archaism (and/or certain dialects)
Common nouns
| Word |
Meaning |
Notes
|
| adó |
tax |
|
| akó |
(old unit of capacity,
approx. 13 gal) |
|
| alsó |
lower part |
|
| bimbó |
bud |
|
| bíró |
judge |
|
| bogyó |
berry |
|
| borsó |
peas |
|
| cipó |
loaf (of bread) |
|
| cipő |
shoe(s) |
|
| csípő |
hip (body part) |
|
| dió |
walnut |
|
| csikó |
foal |
|
| disznó |
pig |
|
| dűlő |
(a kind of) land or field (parcel) |
|
| ernyő |
umbrella, parasol, shade |
|
| fördő/fürdő |
bath(ing site) |
|
| gyűrű |
(finger) ring |
|
| hintó |
carriage, coach |
|
| hordó |
barrel |
|
kendő
keszkendő/
keszkenő |
kerchief |
|
| komló |
hops |
|
| koporsó |
coffin |
|
| korsó |
jug, pitcher |
|
| kunyhó |
hut |
|
| küllő |
spike |
|
| kürtő |
chimney stack, flue |
|
| lépcső |
stair |
|
| lepedő |
bedsheet |
|
| mellső |
front (legs) |
|
| nő |
woman |
its alternant is lexicalized on its own (together with the consonant of the possessive) as nej (“wife”), regular in the latter sense
|
| olló |
pincers, clippers, claw |
more regular in the sense “scissors, shears”
|
| orsó |
spindle, reel |
|
| padló |
floor(ing) |
|
| patkó |
horseshoe |
|
| pondró |
grub |
|
| posztó |
(broad) cloth |
|
| rézső/rőzső |
brushwood, twigs, kindling |
standard: rőzse
|
| seprő/söprő |
dregs, lees (of wine) |
|
| szőlő |
grape, grapevine, vineyard |
|
| tapló |
touchwood |
|
| tinó |
steer (young bullock/ox) |
|
| túró |
cottage cheese |
|
| üsző |
heifer |
|
| véső |
chisel |
|
| vessző |
comma; twig; phallus |
|
| zacskó |
bag |
|
| zsidó |
Jew |
its alternating form may be considered derogatory and offensive
|
Place names
They are retained today chiefly in surnames and certain set phrases:
| Place name |
Derived surnames |
Derived phrases
|
| Arló |
Arlai, Arlay |
|
| Aszaló |
Aszalai, Aszalay |
|
| Bakó |
Bakai, Bakay |
|
| Barkó |
Barkai, Barkay |
|
| Baskó |
Baskai, Baskay |
|
| Baté |
Batai, Batay |
|
| Brassó |
Brassai, Brassay |
|
| Cikló |
Cziklai, Cziklay |
|
| Cikó |
Czikai, Czikay |
|
| Csejkő |
Csejkei, Csejkey |
|
| Csermő |
Csermei, Csermey |
|
| Csertő |
Csertei, Csertey |
|
| Csicsó |
csicsai, Csicsay |
|
| Csikó |
Csikai, Csikay |
|
| Csisnyó |
Csisnyai, Csisnyay |
|
| Csó |
Csai, Csay |
|
| Csoltó |
Csoltai, Csoltay |
|
| Csökmő |
Csökmei, Csökmey |
|
| Csörgő |
Csörgei, Csörgey |
|
| Csurgó |
Csurgai, Csurgay |
|
| Darnó |
Darnai, Darnay |
|
| Decső |
Decsei, Decsey |
|
| Ditró |
Ditrai, Ditray |
|
| Dombó |
Dombai, Dombay |
|
| Doroszló |
Doroszlai, Doroszlay |
|
| Gödöllő |
Gödöllei, Gödölley |
|
| Görgő |
Görgei, Görgey |
|
| Gyergyó |
Gyergyai, Gyergyay |
|
| Halastó |
Halastai, Halastay |
|
| Jászó |
Jászai, Jászay |
|
| Jenő |
Jenei, Jeney |
|
| Kálló |
Kállai, Kállay |
kállai kettős (a kind of traditional dance)
|
| Koltó |
Koltai, Koltay |
|
| Kömörő |
Kömörei, Kömörey |
|
| Krakkó |
Krakkai, Krakkay |
|
| Küküllő |
Küküllei, Kükülley |
|
| Liptó |
Liptai, Liptay, Lipthay |
liptai túró (a kind of cottage cheese)
|
| Makó |
Makai, Makkai, Makay, Makkay |
|
| Mérő |
Mérei, Mérey |
|
| Mező |
Mezei, Mezey |
|
| Mizdó |
Mizdai, Mizday |
|
| Orló |
Orlai, Orlay |
|
| Oroszló |
Oroszlai, Oroszlay |
|
| Palé |
Palai, Palay |
|
| Pásztó |
Pásztai, Pásztay |
|
| Pornó |
Pornai, Pornay |
|
| Poroszkó |
Poroszkai, Poroszkay |
|
| Poroszló |
Poroszlai, Poroszlay |
|
| Prasznó |
Prasznai, Prasznai |
|
| Sisó |
Sisai, Sisay |
|
| Sokoró |
Sokorai, Sokoray |
|
Somló
Somlyó |
Somlai, Somlay,
Somlyai, Somlyay |
somlai bor (a kind of wine)
|
| Somlyó |
Somlyai, Somlyay |
|
| Süttő |
Süttei, Süttey |
|
| Szántó |
Szántai, Szántay |
|
| Szendrő |
Szendrei, Szendrey |
|
| Szikszó |
Szikszai, Szikszay |
|
| Szoboszló |
Szoboszlai, Szoboszlay |
|
| Técső |
Técsei, Técsey |
|
| Tényő |
Tényei, Tényey |
|
| Torockó |
Toroczkai, Toroczkay |
|
| Üllő |
Üllei, Ülley |
|
| Valkó |
Valkai, Valkay |
|
| Visnyó |
Visnyai, Visnyay |
|
See also
Further reading
- Magyar Tudós Társaság (today: Magyar Tudományos Akadémia ’Hungarian Academy of Sciences’). A’ magyar nyelv rendszere (’The System of the Hungarian Language’). Buda, 1846 (p. 151 linked)
- Balassa, József. Két „-a, -e” végű főnévképző (’Two noun suffixes ending in -a/-e’). In: Magyar Nyelvőr (’Steward of the Hungarian Language’), Budapest, vol. 12 (1883), issue 7 (July 15), pp. 299–302 (especially p. 300)
- Szabó, József. A névszőtövek vizsgálata Nagykónyi község nyelvjárásában (’Examination of nominal stems in the dialect of the small town Nagykónyi’). In: Acta Universitatis Szegediensis : Sectio Ethnographica et Linguistica = Néprajz és Nyelvtudomány, vol. 26 (1982), pp. 115–142 (especially pp. 122–124)
- Rónai, Béla: Somlai vagy somlói? In: Dunántúli Napló, April 14, 2004, p. 7.
- napló, naplója (linguistic advice at E-nyelv.hu, September 22, 2011), with a list of terms given in Keszler, Borbála (ed.). Magyar grammatika (’Hungarian Grammar’). Budapest: Nemzeti Tankönyvkiadó, 2000. →ISBN