Etymologically
Log in

át

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 25 October 2026 at 23:55. This address is a permanent link to this version.
Changes in this edit History

Pronunciation

Etymology

It is of disputed origin.[2][1] In the view of TESz and the MSzFE it is inherited from Old Hungarian ált (“across, through”), an adverb that goes back to the Ugric period, inherited from Proto-Ugric *ȣltɜ (“across, through”).[3][4][5] The Ugric relatives are Mansi ūltta and Khanty uʌti, both meaning “across, through”.[5]

Following Pais, the MSzFE explains the Ugric word as a case form of the distal demonstrative stem Proto-Uralic *u ~ *o “that”, with the ablative suffix ⟨-l⟩ and the locative suffix ⟨-t⟩; the corresponding postpositions and adverbs of the related languages were built from the same stem in the same way.[4][5][6] The long /á/ is a lengthening that took place within Hungarian.[4] The longer által was formed from the old adverb with a second ablative ⟨-l⟩, already in Hungarian.[5][4]

ÚESz finds it impossible to decide whether the word continues the old adverb or is a later shortening of the longer form, which the dates of the records would also allow;[5][2][1] Zaicz and Wiktionary give both explanations.[5][2][1] TESz dates the modern form without ⟨l⟩ to the end of the 18th century.[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in the Lányi Codex of 1519, where the word is a postposition: melly collecta mynd eztendew alth mondatyk, “which collect is said all the year through”.[3][5] TESz glosses the sense as “through, across”.[3]

Semantic evolution

According to TESz, the word was at first an independent adverb of place; it became a postposition, and in the other direction a preverb, and it expressed first relations of place, then of time.[3] As an adverb it is recorded from 1693–1694, and as a preverb ÚESz dates it from 1772.[5]

The difference of form between által and át in time became a difference of function: standard Hungarian uses által only in abstract senses and as the postposition of the agent or means (“by, by means of”), while át kept the concrete senses of place and time and the role of preverb.[3][5][2] Szily notes that the older literature hardly used át as a preverb, only által; the grammarian Verseghy argued that át alone suited that role, because által before a verb could be ambiguous, and the later literary language followed him.[7]

In the dialect of the Szamos region the word is rare: speakers prefer által, and use át as a preverb only where it stays next to the verb.[8]

Timeline

  • 1519 – alth as a postposition in the Lányi Codex.[3][5]
  • c. 1519 – alc in the Debrecen Codex.[3]
  • 1693–1694 – first use as an adverb.[3][5]
  • 1772 – first use as a preverb.[5]
  • 1784 – át-út in Baróti Szabó's Kisded szótár.[3][5]

Meanings

Adverb

  1. (military) In words of command, a quarter turn: jobbra át! “right turn!”, balra át! “left turn!”.[9]
  2. over there, on the other side of a boundary; also, in the world beyond.[9][1]

Preverb

  1. across, over, through: forms verbs of crossing, passing and changing, such as átmegy, átad and átalakul.[9][10]
  2. Standing alone, it answers a yes–no question asked with such a verb, or stresses the verb: Átjössz? – Át.[9]

Postposition

  1. Across: from one side of a place or object to the other, mostly with the suffix -n: A hídon át mentünk a városba.[9][1]
  2. through a mass or space, usually by a shorter way: az erdőn át.[9]
  3. Through an opening: Az ablakon át nézett ki.[9]
  4. Over or beyond a dividing line, to its other side.[9]
  5. via: by way of a place: Bécsen át utaztak Párizsba.[9]
  6. Through the members of a series, the one named included.[9]
  7. throughout: for the whole of a stretch of time: három napon át.[9]
  • által

Usage notes

Át and által were long used side by side (Dunán át or Dunán által), and Czuczor and Fogarasi still treat the verbs with át- under által-.[10] The old and dialect forms include áte, áté, áti, átul and átë.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 191
  4. ^ a b c d Lakó, György (ed.) (1967–1978), A magyar szókészlet finnugor elemei, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 86
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  6. ^ Rédei, Károly (ed.) (1986–1991), Uralisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz; online as Uralonet, uralonet.nytud.hu
  7. ^ Szily, Kálmán (1902–1908), A magyar nyelvújítás szótára, 2 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky, p. 16
  8. ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, p. 1, 52
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
  10. ^ a b Czuczor, Gergely; Fogarasi, János (1862–1874), A magyar nyelv szótára, 6 vols., Pest: Emich Gusztáv / Athenaeum