vész

Of unknown origin.^[1]

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• Hyphenation: vész
• Rhymes: -eːs

vész (plural vészek)

1. (archaic) plague, pestilence, pandemic, disease (today only in some compounds, especially referring to domestic animals)
2. (literary) disaster, catastrophe

   Synonyms: csapás, katasztrófa, szerencsétlenség

3. (as a prefix in compounds) emergency (adjectival use)

vész

2. (intransitive) to perish, to die

   Synonyms: odavész, elpusztul, meghal

   éhen vész ― die of hunger

3. (intransitive) to get lost, to vanish (in something: -ba/-be)

   Synonym: elvész

   ködbe vész ― s/he gets lost in the mist/fog

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, (meg)ér–(meg)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.

or (less commonly, although more clearly distinguishing from certain coinciding forms of the verbs vesz and veszt and the possessive-suffixed noun veszte)

• veszik (in its prefixed forms as well)
• vesz (in some phrases)

• veszte (with the possessive suffix incorporated)

(With verbal prefixes):

• (disaster): vész 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
• (to perish): vész , redirecting to (2): vesz 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
• vész 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).