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ha

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ha1 if

Pronunciation

Forms

Old and dialect forms: hah (1529, Virginia Codex), há (1577) and dialectal he.[2][3]

Etymology

The conjunction is a fossilised case form: the pronoun stem of hogy, hol, honnan and hány, with the lative suffix -á.[2][3][4][1] It is built like hova, which developed in another direction.[2] The stem is the interrogative pronoun stem that the UEW reconstructs as Proto-Uralic *ku- (“who, which”), with reflexes such as Finnish kuka (“who”) and Finnish koska (“when”).[5]

The original form was probably ⟨há⟩; the final vowel shortened, as it did in fa and ma.[2][3][4] The word was first an adverb of place and then of time; from that it became the conjunction of temporal clauses and then of conditional and concessive ones.[2][3][4] The sources compare the same development in German, where German wann (“when”) and wenn (“if”) are one word in origin.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

TESz and ÚESz give the first record as a conditional ha in the Königsberg Fragment of about 1350: mert ha ... num uolna, “for if ... there were not”.[2][3] Zaicz dates the word to the early 13th century.[4]

Semantic evolution

As an adverb the word also asked a question: “whether” in the Munich Codex (written after 1416, copied in 1466) and “when?” in the Döbrentei Codex of 1508.[2][3][6] NySz quotes the old question ha “when?” from the codices into the 17th century, and the Ballagi dictionary of 1868 still records it.[7][8] The sense “at most, only” appears in 1549.[2][3]

In the Tihany Codex of 1532 the word is used as a noun for the condition itself.[2][3] A proverb plays on this use: if there were no “if”, the poor would be rich.[9][8] In old compounds it meant “like, as if”: hana “as it were” and hogyhana “as if” in the Jókai Codex.[3]

In the dialects ha still asks “when?” and means “whether”, “about, at most”, and “either ... or” when doubled.[10][11][12] In several regions, among them Székely speech, it also means “but rather” after a negative: Nem Péter volt, ha Pál, “It wasn't Péter but Pál”.[13][14][10]

Timeline

  • c. 1350 – ha “if” in the Königsberg Fragment.[2][3]
  • after 1372 (copied c. 1448) – hana “as it were” and hogyhana “as if” in the Jókai Codex.[3]
  • after 1416 (copied 1466) – ha “whether” in the Munich Codex.[2][3]
  • 1508 – ha “when?” in the Döbrentei Codex.[2][3]
  • 1529 – the variant hah in the Virginia Codex.[2][3]
  • 1532 – ha as a noun, “the condition”, in the Tihany Codex.[2][3]
  • 1549 – ha “at most, only”.[2][3]

Meanings

Conjunction

  1. if: introduces a condition, often answered by akkor in the main clause: Ha esik, itthon maradunk.[15][1]
  2. when, whenever: introduces a clause of time.[15][1][16]
  3. (dialectal) but rather (after a negative clause).[14][13][10]

Adverb

  1. (archaic) When?[15][2]
  2. (literary, folk) whether, usually with -e or vajon.[15][2]
  3. At most, only (often with legfeljebb or összesen).[15][2]

Noun

  1. The word ha as the expression of a condition.[15][2]

Word family

  • hogyha
  • mintha
  • noha
  • néha
  • valaha
  • hanemha

ha2 interjection

Pronunciation

Etymology

The interjection is onomatopoeic: it grew out of an involuntary outburst of sound.[2][3][1] It belongs with the interjections hah and hó.[2][3] TESz notes that the interjection that calls for attention or silence may also be a shortening of the imperative hallga “listen!”, and that the two may have merged; ÚESz says this use coincides with the shortened imperative.[2][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is a Latin note on farm labourers, who call ha he, hay hay to their animals while ploughing;[2][3][17] TESz dates it after 1475, ÚESz to 1479.[2][3][17] The use there is to slow, stop or drive draught animals.[2][3]

Semantic evolution

TESz holds that calling for attention could have grown out of the animal call, but that the expressions of surprise, sudden realisation, shock, anger and indignation probably developed independently of it.[2] ÚESz dates the senses of surprise, anger and dismay later than the animal call.[3] The animal call itself went out of use, and hó took over its role.[2]

The exclamation Há! is recorded in 1792.[2][3] Today the word is rare, used mostly to call attention to something or to ask for quiet.[3] In the Ormánság it draws attention to a faint sound: Ha!, listen, the mouse is rustling in the attic.[12]

Timeline

  • 1479 – ha as a call to ploughing animals in a Latin note (TESz: after 1475).[2][3]
  • 1792 – the exclamation Há!.[2][3]

Meanings

Interjection

  1. Expresses anger, rage or indignation, or vexation.[15][3]
  2. Expresses fright, shock or dismay.[15][1]
  3. Expresses astonishment mixed with horror.[15][1]
  4. Expresses a sudden realization, or a wrong suddenly remembered.[15]
  5. (regional) Calls attention to a faint sound, often whispered with a raised finger: “listen!”[15][1][12]

Usage notes

In a conditional sentence ha is often followed by akkor “then” in the main clause.[1] The compound conjunctions hogyha and mintha are recorded in the old glossaries.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 30 31 Benkő, Loránd (ed.) (1967–1976), A magyar nyelv történeti-etimológiai szótára, 3 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 7
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z 27 28 29 Gerstner, Károly (ed.) (2006–), Új magyar etimológiai szótár, Budapest: Nyelvtudományi Kutatóközpont; online at uesz.nytud.hu
  4. ^ a b c d e Zaicz, Gábor (ed.) (2006), Etimológiai szótár: magyar szavak és toldalékok eredete, Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó
  5. ^ Rédei, Károly (ed.) (1986–1991), Uralisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó / Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz; online as Uralonet, uralonet.nytud.hu
  6. ^ Szabó T., Ádám (ed.) (1985), A Müncheni Kódex szókincse (Der Wortschatz des Münchener Kodex), with the text of the Müncheni Kódex 1466 ed. Antal Nyíri and Gyula Décsy, Budapest, p. 401
  7. ^ Szarvas, Gábor; Simonyi, Zsigmond (1890–1893), Magyar nyelvtörténeti szótár, 3 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky, p. 1, 1217
  8. ^ a b Ballagi, Mór (1867–1873), A magyar nyelv teljes szótára, 2 vols., Pest: Heckenast, p. 498
  9. ^ Kresznerics, Ferenc (1831–1832), Magyar szótár gyökérrenddel és deák értelmezéssel, 2 vols., Buda, p. 1, 213
  10. ^ a b c B. Lőrinczy, Éva (ed.) (1979–2010), Új magyar tájszótár, 5 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 2, 775
  11. ^ Csűry, Bálint (1935–1936), Szamosháti szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Magyar Nyelvtudományi Társaság, p. 1, 345
  12. ^ a b c Kiss, Géza (1952), Ormánysági szótár, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 204
  13. ^ a b Kriza, János (1863), Vadrózsák: székely népköltési gyűjtemény (with its Tájszótár), Kolozsvár, p. 43
  14. ^ a b Szinnyei, József (1893–1901), Magyar tájszótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Hornyánszky, p. 1, 767
  15. ^ 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
  16. ^ Bálint, Sándor (1957), Szegedi szótár, 2 vols., Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 1, 542
  17. ^ a b c Berrár, Jolán; Károly, Sándor (1984), Régi magyar glosszárium: szótárak, szójegyzékek és glosszák egyesített szótára, Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, p. 286