-ű

See also: Appendix:Variations of "u"

Hungarian edit

Etymology edit

First attested in c. 1350. Of the same origin as the -ó/-ő diminutive suffix. Later it split from the latter as an adjective-forming suffix meaning “possessing something”. Originally, the variants occurred equally both as a diminutive suffix and as an adjective-forming suffix. This mix of forms resulted in a division of senses.^[1]

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): [yː]

Suffix edit

-ű

(adjective-forming suffix) Added to a noun to form an adjective denoting possession or similarity. It is used only in parasynthetic compounds, requiring a preceding adjective or a compound structure. Similar in function to English -ed.
hét (“seven”) + fej (“head”) → hétfejű sárkány (“seven-headed dragon”)

jó szív (“kind heart”) → jószívű (“kind-hearted”)

darázsderekú ― wasp-waisted
(obsolete) Present-participle suffix, found today only in a few words such as gyönyörű (“beautiful”, adjective), fésű (“comb”, noun), sűrű (“thick”, adjective).

Usage notes edit

(adjective-forming suffix): Harmonic variants:
-ú is added to back-vowel words ending in a consonant

-ű is added to front-vowel words ending in a consonant

-jú is added to back-vowel words ending in a vowel. Final -a changes to -á-.

-jű is added to front-vowel words ending in a vowel. Final -e changes to -é-.

Derived terms edit

Hungarian adjectives suffixed with -ű

References edit

^ -ű in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)

[1] -ű in Zaicz, Gábor (ed.). Etimológiai szótár: Magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete (‘Dictionary of Etymology: The origin of Hungarian words and affixes’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2006, →ISBN. (See also its 2nd edition.)

[1]

-ű

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