Etymologically
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apa

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Pronunciation

Forms

apa (plural apák)[1] The stem shortens to apj- before some endings: apja, apjuk.[2][1] A dialect form ëpám “my father” is recorded among the Moldavian Csángós.[3][4]

Etymology

It is probably formed from a Finno-Ugric stem, inherited from Proto-Uralic *appe (“father-in-law”), with a Hungarian suffix.[3][5][6] Its cognates mean “father-in-law”: Mansi up, Khanty up, Eastern Mari owə̑, Finnish appi and Northern Sami vuoppâ.[3][6] Finno-Ugric /pp/ became Hungarian /p/, as in apad and epe.[3][5] The final ⟨-a⟩ is either a diminutive suffix or the possessive ending of the third person singular.[3][7]

The derivation is uncertain.[3][8] No cognate means “father”, and words of the same shape and sense are found in many unrelated languages, such as Ancient Greek ἄππα (áppa, “papa”); since such words mostly come from children's speech, ⟨apa⟩ may be one too, like anya and atya.[3][5] ÚESz also allows that ⟨apa⟩ and ipa lived side by side in Proto-Hungarian in the sense “father; father-in-law”.[3][5]

TESz gives a different set of cognates, Ob-Ugric words for “grandfather” and “great-grandfather” and a Mansi word for “bear”, and leaves open whether the stem ⟨ap-⟩ is an inheritance of the Ugric period or a word of Hungarian nursery language.[9] It compares the Common Turkic ⟨aba⟩ “father; bear” and Mongolian ⟨aba⟩ “father” as similar words.[9] Wiktionary considers a Turkic origin most likely, comparing Old Turkic 𐰯𐰀 (apa, “father”).[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

Its first records are names: perhaps Opoudi, a place name in the Tihany founding charter of 1055, and the personal name Apa in a document of about 1067, known from a copy of 1267.[3][9] As a common noun it first appears in the Besztercei word list of about 1395, where Latin patruelus “cousin on the father's side” is glossed apaual egueng.[9][10] The sense is “father”.[9]

Semantic evolution

The other senses developed within Hungarian.[9] Through age it came to mean “old man” (1527) and “respected man” (1639), as German Vater does; from the ancestor of a line it came to mean “forefather” (1820); “father-in-law” (1629) is the form of address taken over from the spouse; and “author, originator” (1636) is a figurative use.[9][3] In Transylvania it also meant the master of a guild (1570).[3][11] MSzFE takes “father” for the original sense and “father-in-law” for a later one, as with anya.[7]

The diminutives are later: apó “old man; daddy” from 1708–10, apus from 1808, apuka from 1892, apuci from 1900 and apu from 1910, a back-formation from apuka or apuci.[3][5]

The word was borrowed into neighbouring languages: Slovak apa and apo “father, daddy”, recorded from 1774 and with the diminutive apka from 1599,[12] Kajkavian japa and Slovene jápa,[3] and Prekmurje Slovene apa.[13]

Timeline

  • 1055 – perhaps in the place name Opoudi in the Tihany founding charter.[3]
  • c. 1067 – Apa as a personal name (copy of 1267).[3][9]
  • c. 1395 – apaual in the Besztercei word list, the first record as a common noun.[9]
  • 1527 – “old man” in the Érdy Codex.[9]
  • 1570 – “guild master” in Transylvania.[3]
  • 1599 – Slovak apka, a diminutive borrowed from Hungarian.[12]
  • 1629 – “father-in-law”.[3]
  • 1636 – “author, originator” in Pázmány.[9]
  • 1708–10 – apó “old man; daddy”.[3]
  • 1820 – “forefather”.[9][3]
  • 1892 – apuka.[3]
  • 1910 – apu.[3]

Meanings

Noun

  1. father: a man in relation to the children he has fathered.[2][14][1]
  2. Used in address: by a child to the father, by a son- or daughter-in-law to the father-in-law, or by a wife to her husband.[2][15]
  3. A male ancestor, a forefather.[2][14]
  4. A man who takes the place of a father, or a respected leader of a community.[2][14]
  5. (familiar) An older man, addressed by someone young enough to be his son.[2]
  6. The male parent of an animal; a stud animal.[2][14]
  7. The creator or author of something.[2][14]
  8. The largest or strongest of a set of things.[2][14]

Word family

  • apó
  • apus
  • apu
  • apai
  • apaság
  • apátlan
  • apuka
  • apuci

Usage notes

The phrase apja fia “his father's son” is said of a child who takes after the father.[16][17] In the Ormánság and in Szeged a wife calls her husband apja “his father”.[18][16]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  4. ^ Szinnyei, József (1893–1901), Magyar tájszótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky
  5. ^ a b c d e Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  6. ^ a b Rédei, Károly (ed.) (1986–1991), Uralisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz; online as Uralonet, uralonet.nytud.hu
  7. ^ a b Lakó, György (ed.) (1967–1978), A magyar szókészlet finnugor elemei, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 89
  8. ^ Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 161
  10. ^ Berrár, Jolán; Károly, Sándor (1984), Régi magyar glosszárium: szótárak, szójegyzékek és glosszák egyesített szótára, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
  11. ^ Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 89
  12. ^ a b Gregor, Ferenc (2023), A szlovák nyelv magyar elemei, ed. András Zoltán, Budapest: Kairosz, p. 97
  13. ^ Dudás, Előd (2024), Nemeski kincs: a muravidéki szlovén irodalmi nyelv magyar jövevényszavai, Budapest, p. 125
  14. ^ a b c d e f Ittzés, Nóra (ed.) (2006–), A magyar nyelv nagyszótára, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at nagyszotar.nytud.hu
  15. ^ Szabó T., Attila (ed.) (1975–2014), Erdélyi magyar szótörténeti tár, 14 vols., Bukarest: Kriterion / Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Kolozsvár: Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület
  16. ^ a b Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
  17. ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság
  18. ^ Kiss, Géza (1952), Ormánysági szótár, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó