Hungarian gyenge ‘weak, feeble, powerless’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18349/MagyarNyelv.2024.2.189Keywords:
etymology, loanword, Slavic languages, Slovak language, Slavic–Hungarian language contactsAbstract
The Hungarian word gyenge ‘weak, feeble, powerless’ is considered to be of unknown origin. In earlier literature Finno-Ugric and Turkic etymologies have been suggested but neither offers an impeccable explanation from phonological and semantic point of view. This paper revives an even earlier suggestion, namely, that the word gyenge is of Slavic origin. This explanation suffers from neither phonological, nor semantic difficulties. Furthermore, the proposed Slavic etymon has a certain Proto-Indo-European etymology. The paper also addresses the question of whether forms with an initial g- are indeed of earlier origin.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Gabriella Juhász
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