Etymologically
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elmond

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Pronunciation

Forms

elmond (infinitive elmondani).[2]

Etymology

It is from Hungarian el- (“away; to the end”) + mond (“to say”), a verb with a preverb.[1][3][2] The preverb was originally the adverb elé “forward”, formed from the stem of elő with the lative suffix ⟨-é⟩, and shortened in preverb use; from forward movement it came to mark moving away, then the start, continuation and completion of an action, the sense it has in this verb.[4][5][6] TESz rejects the view that it became a preverb as a calque of Slavic preverbs.[4]

The verb is probably a Uralic stem, Proto-Uralic *monɜ- (“to say”), with the Hungarian frequentative suffix ⟨-d⟩, though its vowels raise difficulties.[7][5][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

The earliest quotations are in the Érdy Codex (1527), Veegyg el mondaak, “they told it through to the end”, and in the Virginia Codex of the 16th century, Mond el az confiteort, “say the Confiteor”.[3] The senses are “to tell from beginning to end” and “to recite”.[3]

Semantic evolution

The Transylvanian records show the verb used for reciting a prayer in 1586, the Ave Maria and the Creed, for telling what someone had said in 1591, for saying a lesson in 1653, and in el meri mondani “he dares to state” in 1724.[8] Keresztúri's sermons of 1640 have it for telling a story in full.[3]

Gvadányi's elmondott mindennek, “he called him every name”, of 1807, shows the sense “to abuse, call names”, which the NSz dates from 1773; it is still alive in the dialects (émond).[3][9][10][11][12] The NSz dates the other modern senses from the 1770s on: “to pronounce” from 1779, “to tell from beginning to end” from 1783, “to tell in writing” from 1814.[9] Ballagi's dictionary of 1868 has elmondhatatlan, “unspeakable”, and elmondhatlan.[13]

Timeline

  • 1527 – Veegyg el mondaak in the Érdy Codex.[3]
  • 1586 – of prayers, in the records of Kolozsvár.[8]
  • 1640 – “to tell in full” in Keresztúri's sermons.[3]
  • 1653 – of a school lesson.[8]
  • 1773 – “to call names, abuse”.[9]
  • 1779 – “to pronounce”.[9]
  • 1783 – “to tell (a story) from beginning to end”.[9]
  • 1814 – “to relate in writing”.[9]
  • 1868 – elmondhatatlan in Ballagi's dictionary.[13]

Meanings

Verb

  1. (transitive) To tell, relate: to tell something, especially a story, from beginning to end or up to a point; to give an account of it.[14][9][1]
  2. (transitive) To express in words; to let someone know briefly, tell them.[14][9]
  3. (transitive) To recite: to say a fixed text in full, deliver or say by heart; to list aloud.[14][1]
  4. (transitive) To relate or report something in writing.[14][9]
  5. (transitive) To call someone names, usually abusive, rarely praising: mindennek elmond “to call someone every name”.[14][9]
  6. (transitive) Of a thing, to show or express something by its mere presence or appearance.[14]

Word family

  • elmondhatatlan

Usage notes

The preverb stands after the verb in many sentences, as in Ezt csak neked mondom el “I am telling this only to you”.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Czuczor, Gergely; Fogarasi, János (1862–1874), A magyar nyelv szótára, 6 vols., Pest: Emich Gusztáv / Athenaeum
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Szarvas, Gábor; Simonyi, Zsigmond (1890–1893), Magyar nyelvtörténeti szótár, 3 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky, p. 2, 860
  4. ^ a b Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 735
  5. ^ a b Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  6. ^ a b Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  7. ^ Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 948
  8. ^ a b c Szabó T., Attila (ed.) (1975–2014), Erdélyi magyar szótörténeti tár, 14 vols., Bukarest: Kriterion / Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Kolozsvár: Erdélyi Múzeum-Egyesület, p. 2, 1077
  9. ^ 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
  10. ^ Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 346
  11. ^ Kiss, Géza (1952), Ormánysági szótár, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 385
  12. ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, p. 1, 217
  13. ^ a b Ballagi, Mór (1867–1873), A magyar nyelv teljes szótára, 2 vols., Pest: Heckenast, p. 281
  14. ^ 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