ahogy

Etymology

It is a compound from Hungarian az + hogy, from the demonstrative az “that” and the relative adverb hogy “how”.^[1][2] It belongs to the relative pronouns and adverbs formed with the prefix a-, which is the demonstrative.^[3][2]

The first of these, aki and ami, arose when the boundary between two clauses shifted: the demonstrative ⟨az⟩ of the main clause fused with the indefinite or interrogative pronoun that began the relative clause, so that a sentence of the type ⟨megjött az, kit vártunk⟩ (he came, that one, whom we waited for) became ⟨megjött, akit vártunk⟩.^[3][2] The relative adverbs such as ahol and ⟨ahogy⟩ were formed later on their model.^[3][2] TESz and ÚESz compare French lequel and Italian il quale “who, which”, formed with the article.^[3][2]

Earliest recorded meaning

ÚESz takes the first records from the Transylvanian dictionary: A hogy “if, in case” in a court record of 1595, and “in the way that” in 1596.^[2][4] TESz had given only a letter of Kazinczy of 1803, published in 1892, where a' hogy means “as, when”: he found the surgeon in the street as he was going to his patients.^[3]

Semantic evolution

The Transylvanian records of the 1590s use the word in three ways: “if, in case”, “since, because” and “as, in the way that”.^[4] The NSz, which begins its quotations in 1772, dates the senses “in the manner that” and “to the degree that” to the 1780s, the temporal sense “when, as soon as” to 1803, and a causal use “since” to 1863.^[5]

In dialects it also means “after”, and in the Ormánság the saying Ahogy esik, úgy puffan “as it falls, so it lands” means that it is all the same.^[6][7]

Timeline

• 1595 – A hogy “if, in case” in a Transylvanian court record.^[2][4]
• 1596 – “in the way that”.^[2][4]
• 1597 – “since, because”.^[4]
• 1782 – “to the degree that”, the first of the NSz's senses.^[5]
• 1803 – a' hogy “as, when” in a letter of Kazinczy.^[3][5]
• 1863 – the causal sense “since”.^[5]

Meanings

Adverb

1. as, in the way that (introducing a clause of manner, often answered by úgy): Csináld úgy, ahogy mondtam.^[8][5][1]
2. In the state that: Úgy hagyta, ahogy volt.^[8][5]
3. To the degree that, as far as: Segítek, ahogy tudok.^[8][5]
4. as soon as, when, the moment that.^[8][5][1]
5. While, during the time that.^[8]
6. After verbs of perception: how, as (introducing what is seen or heard): Láttam, ahogy elment.^[8][5]
7. (colloquial, dated) Since, because.^[5][4]

Word family

• úgy-ahogy
• ahogyan

Related words

• hogy
• az
• amint

Usage notes

Ahogyan is a longer form of the same word.^[7] The phrase úgy-ahogy means “more or less, after a fashion”.^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
3. ^ a b c d e f Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 87–88
4. ^ a b c d e f Szabó T., Attila (ed.) (1975–2014), Erdélyi magyar szótörténeti tár, 14 vols., Bukarest: Kriterion / Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Kolozsvár: Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület, p. 1, 140
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Ittzés, Nóra (ed.) (2006–), A magyar nyelv nagyszótára, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at nagyszotar.nytud.hu
6. ^ B. Lőrinczy, Éva (ed.) (1979–2010), Új magyar tájszótár, 5 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 171
7. ^ a b Kiss, Géza (1952), Ormánysági szótár, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 5
8. ^ a b c d e f Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu