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azelőtt. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
azelőtt, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
azelőtt in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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Hungarian
Etymology
az (“that”) + előtt (“before”)
Pronunciation
Adverb
azelőtt
- before (in time), previously, formerly (in former times) (the amount of time that had passed until that time is expressed with -val/-vel)
- Synonyms: előtte, korábban, előzőleg
- Coordinate term: ezelőtt
- Mi volt itt azelőtt? ― What was here before?
- Azelőtt könyveket írt. ― He/she used to write books.
Usage notes
Similar compounds are written as one word (in solid) when they function as adverbs or parts of a conjunction. However, if they emphatically point at something particular (“without/around/behind/etc. that person/object”), they are written with a space inside. More information: Section 121 in A magyar helyesírás szabályai, 12. kiadás (’The Rules of Hungarian Orthography, 12th edition’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2015. →ISBN
Derived terms
Postposition
azelőtt
- before, earlier (the amount of time that had passed is expressed with -val/-vel)
- Coordinate term: ezelőtt
- három évvel azelőtt ― three years before
Further reading
- azelőtt in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (“The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language”, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN
- azelőtt in Nóra Ittzés, editor, A magyar nyelv nagyszótára [A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language] (Nszt.), Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published a–ez as of 2024).