múlik

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• múl (archaic)

Etymology

From Proto-Finno-Ugric *mule-. Cognates include Moksha and Erzya молемс (moľems, “to go”), Northern Sami mollat.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):
• Hyphenation: mú‧lik
• Rhymes: -uːlik

Verb

múlik

1. (intransitive, of time) to pass, to go by, to elapse

   Synonyms: halad, telik, repül, pereg

   • 1906, Gyula Krúdy, chapter 6, in A podolini kísértet‎:

     A podolini Riminiszky-házban egyhangúan múltak a napok. A házigazda meggyógyult, és a medvebőrt többé senki sem terítette a sarokba, hogy Ancsurka macskájával oda letelepedjen.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

2. (intransitive, copulative, of age) to be past

   Pista harmincéves múlt. ― Steve is past thirty.

3. (intransitive) to become less and less prominent

   Synonym: elül

4. (intransitive, of pain) to subside, to stop gradually

   Synonyms: csökken, csillapodik, enyhül, szűnik

5. (intransitive) to depend on, to be up to someone, to be a question/matter of something (-n/-on/-en/-ön)

   Synonyms: függ, áll

   Nem rajtam múlik. ― It's not up to me. (It does not depend on me.)

Usage notes

• This verb is a member of one of those (few) quasi-homonymous verb pairs that exist both with and without an -ik ending. All (intransitive) suffixed forms of these pairs are identical (sometimes they can even have derived forms that coincide), with the exception of their dictionary form (the third-person singular indicative present, with or without -ik). However, the meaning of these pairs is usually distinct, sometimes unrelated. Examples include (fel)áldoz–(le)áldozik, bán–bánik, (meg)bíz–(meg)bízik, ér–érik, esz (rare)–eszik, hajol–hajlik, (felül)múl–(el)múlik, (hozzá)nyúl–nyúlik, (el)vesz–(el)veszik~(el)vész, and tör–törik (along with their verbal prefixes), hall–hallik (archaic), érez–érzik (archaic), sometimes with some difference: (el)hibáz–hibádzik, (le)torkol–torkollik. Therefore one may well need to check the context and the arguments to ascertain which member of the verb pair is relevant.
• This verb is called a pseudo-ik verb, as its -ik ending presents itself only in the 3rd-person singular (indicative present) form, but it is not an -ik verb in any other aspect. As a result, it cannot take the -om/-em/-öm ending in the 1st-person singular (indicative present) form, even in the most erudite style, only -ok/-ek/-ök. Naturally, the optional -m ending cannot appear, either, in their subjunctive or conditional 1st-person singular forms, so only -jak/-jek and -nék is possible in these respective forms. These verbs include the following: bomlik, (el)bújik, (meg)érik, (le)folyik, (össze)gyűlik, hazudik, (le)hull(ik), (bele)/(oda)illik, (meg)jelenik, (el)kopik, (el)múlik, ömlik, (meg)születik, (meg)szűnik, (meg)telik, tojik, (el)törik, (el)/(fel)tűnik, (el)válik, and (el)züllik. (Ki)nyílik partially belongs here, as it cannot take the first-person -om ending but it can take the third-person -jék.

Conjugation

The alternative form múlott instead of múlt is only used in the sense "to depend", or less often "to go by". The short form múlt can be used in all senses. Examples: Nem rajtam múlott/múlt. ― It didn't depend on me. Az idő egyre csak múlt, és még mindig nem jött válasz. ― Time was going by fast, and there was still no answer. Próbáltam elaludni, de nem múlt a fájdalom. ― I tried to go to sleep, but the pain wouldn't subside.

Derived terms

Further reading

• múlik 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