férfi
Pronunciation
- [ˈfeːrfi][1]
Forms
férfi (plural férfiak)[1] The fuller form férfiú is literary or jocular today.[2][1] Old and dialect forms include firfiu, feryfiu, förfi and fűrfiú.[3][4][5]
Etymology
It is a compound from Hungarian férj (“husband”) + fiú (“boy, son”), or of the variant fi of the second part; ÚESz calls it a coordinative compound.[3][4][6][7][1] It was probably formed before ⟨férj⟩ took on its sense “husband”, while it still meant “man”.[3][4][7] The ⟨j⟩ was lost between ⟨r⟩ and ⟨f⟩ to simplify the cluster; spellings with ⟨j⟩ such as ⟨férjfi⟩ from the late 18th century are learned analyses.[3][4]
The compound became opaque: speakers inflect it with front vowels, ⟨férfinek⟩, ⟨férfitől⟩, as if it were not tied to ⟨fiú⟩, and the plural ⟨férfik⟩ turns up now and then.[3][7] TESz rejects a Turkic derivation.[3]
Earliest recorded meaning
It is first recorded in the Jókai Codex, written after 1372 and copied about 1448: mend ferfyw es aʒonember “all men and women” who had gathered there began to weep.[8][4] The sense is “adult male person”.[8]
Semantic evolution
It was used early as an attribute, “male, men's” (about 1395).[4][6] It also meant “husband” (about 1405), “boy” (1584) and, rarely, “person” (1790).[4][8] The derivatives are férfiúság “manhood” (1495), férfiúi “manly” (1519), férfias, first “married (of a woman)” (1595) and then “manly” (1792), and férfiatlan “unmanly” (1808).[4][8]
In the folk speech of Szeged it was a newer word, with ember used for “man” instead;[9] férfiú was heard only in religious texts.[9]
Timeline
- 1372 or after – ferfyw “man” in the Jókai Codex (copied about 1448).[4][8]
- c. 1395 – fierfiw as an attribute, “male”, in the Besztercei word list.[4]
- c. 1405 – “husband” in the Schlägl word list.[4]
- 1495 – férfiúság “manhood” in the Guary Codex.[4]
- 1519 – férfiúi “manly”.[4]
- 1584 – “boy”.[4]
- 1595 – férfias “married (of a woman)”;[4] “manly” from 1792.[4]
- 1808 – férfiatlanság “unmanliness” in Kazinczy's letters.[8]
Meanings
Noun
- A man: an adult male person.[2][1]
- A man as a woman's partner or lover.[2]
- A man as the embodiment of qualities thought typical of men, such as strength, courage and will: Légy férfi![2][10]
- (attributive) male: férfi tanár.[2]
- (attributive) For men, worn by men; in sport, men's: férfi cipő, férfi egyes.[2]
Word family
- férfias
- férfiasság
- férfiúi
- férfiatlan
Related words
- férj
- fiú
- fi
Usage notes
The stem takes back-vowel endings in the standard language, férfiak, férfinak, but front-vowel forms such as férfinek are common in speech and dialects.[2][7][11]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e f g Bárczi, Géza; Országh, László (eds.) (1959–1962), A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára, 7 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó; online at ertelmezo.oszk.hu
- ^ a b c d e f Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
- ^ Szinnyei, József (1893–1901), Magyar tájszótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky
- ^ a b Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1993–1997), Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Ungarischen, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 426
- ^ a b c d Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
- ^ a b c d e f Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 892
- ^ a b Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó
- ^ Jakab, László et al. (1993–2019), Csokonai-szókincstár I–IV, Debrecen: Debreceni Egyetem (Számítógépes Nyelvtörténeti Adattár)
- ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság