-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
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.
- (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:
Derived terms edit
See also edit
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.)