eszik

Hungarian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

• Audio

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• Hyphenation: eszik
• Rhymes: -ɛsik

Etymology 1

From Proto-Uralic *sewe- (“to eat”) + -ik. Cognates include Northern Mansi тэ̄ӈкве (tè̄ňkwe), Finnish syödä and Estonian sööma.

Verb

eszik

2. (transitive) to eat

   Synonyms: (formal) étkezik, (formal; with object) fogyaszt, (slang) kajál, (of animals) táplálkozik

3. (transitive, colloquial, preceded by mit) to like a certain trait about someone (-n/-on/-en/-ön)

Usage notes

See under Etymology 2.

Conjugation

Hyponyms

Troponyms

Derived terms

(With verbal prefixes):

See also

Etymology 2

From the esz- stem of eszik +‎ -ik (“they”, third-person plural definite-object personal suffix).

Verb

eszik

2. third-person plural indicative present definite of eszik

Usage notes

As shown by the two etymologies, eszik can be a third-person singular indefinite form (the base form of this verb) or a third-person plural definite form. In other words, it can mean “he/she/it is eating something” or “they are eating that particular thing”. If the subject is not specified, the interpretation is decided by the definiteness of the object. Eszik egy almát has an indefinite object (cf. egy (“a”)), so it must be the indefinite form of the singular (“he/she/it is eating an apple”), while eszik az almát has a definite object (cf. az (“the”)), so it must be the definite form of the plural (“they are eating the apple”). If there is no article before the noun, it is normally indefinite: Kenyeret eszik (“he/she/it is eating bread”). If it is a pronoun, its reference needs to be checked. In Mindent megeszik, minden is indefinite so it means “he/she/it eats everything”, whereas in Mindet megeszik, mind is definite so it means “they eat all (of it)”. In practice, however, the context rarely if ever leaves any doubt about the number of the subject.

Etymology 3

esz +‎ -ik (personal suffix)

Verb

eszik

2. third-person plural indicative present definite of esz

References

Further reading

• eszik 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
• eszik in Ittzés, Nóra (ed.). A magyar nyelv nagyszótára (‘A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 2006–2031 (work in progress; published A–ez as of 2024)